Swazi Bridge News

05/12/2025

“Over E100 million of taxpayer’s monies meant for the development of the country’s strategic oil reserve cannot be accounted for. Between 2016 and 2025, over E100 million meant for the foundational design phase was spent with no works done.

The Strategic Oil Reserve facility at Phuzumoya in Siphofaneni is an initiative meant to be the nation’s bulwark against fuel scarcity and price volatility, guaranteeing a crucial 60-day supply. The project’s groundbreaking ceremony was presided over by His Majesty King Mswati III on the 23rd of April 2025. The Taiwanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Lin Chia-lung, was also in attendance.

An Inhlase investigation reveals a catalogue of financial mismanagement and procurement malpractices that saw over E100 millions of taxpayers’ money squandered on failed designs and ill-conceived contracts long before the recent E5.2 billion agreement for its construction was signed.

Audits reports show that in 2016, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Energy (MNRE) paid multiple companies E93 325 261.61 for foundational and design work….”

Click link to read full story

BY INHLASE REPORTER Over E100 million of taxpayer’s monies meant for the development of the country’s strategic oil reserve cannot be accounted for. Between 2016 and 2025, over E100 million meant for the foundational design phase was spent with no works done. The Strategic Oil Reserve facility a...

30/11/2025

: End digital violence against all women and girls

…..From 25 November to 10 December

By Futhi Tembe (ENPF CEO)

At Lidlelantfongeni, we stand firm in our belief that violence in any form, be it physical, emotional, digital or otherwise, has no place in our homes workplaces, and communities.

While the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence shine a global spotlight on this crisis, our commitment extends far beyond the campaign period. It is a responsibility we carry throughout the year, as an institution that belongs to the people of Eswatini and exists to protect their dignity and future.

As technology becomes woven into daily life, so too do new risks. This year’s digital safety echoes our own journey as ENPF continues to evolve, digitise and modernise. We are strengthening systems, empowering members with knowledge, and promoting safe digital practices. We do this because protection must extend to every space where our members, and all people live, work and connect.

I call on every individual, organisation and leader to stand up, speak out, and take action. Support those at risk. Report abuse. Challenge harmful behaviour online and offline. Let us turn awareness into sustained action and build an Eswatini where no one lives in fear.

ENPF remains unwavering in its year-round commitment to dignity, safety, equality and the wellbeing of every liSwati. Together, let us be the generation that ends violence and not just discusses it.

30/11/2025

IRAN MEDIA REPORTS: ESWATINI VESSEL ALLEGEDLYS SMUGGLING IRAN OIL SEIZED

By Iran News International

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said it had seized an Eswatini-flagged vessel in the Persian Gulf carrying about 350,000 liters of smuggled gasoil, according to state-linked media.

Heydar Honarian-Mojarrad, commander of the IRGC Navy’s Second Naval Zone, said the ship was detained under a judicial order and escorted to the coast of Bushehr for offloading, adding that its 13 crew members were from India and a neighboring country.

Iran, which keeps domestic fuel prices low through subsidies and has seen its currency weaken, regularly announces interceptions of boats accused of moving contraband fuel by sea to Persian Gulf states and by land to neighboring countries.

No details were given on the vessel’s ownership, its last port of call, or the timeline of the operation. Authorities did not specify the fate of the crew beyond the seizure.

The announcement follows other recent actions. On Saturday, authorities near the island of Kish said two vessels carrying a combined 80,000 liters of smuggled fuel were stopped under a judicial order, with prosecutors saying the boats had been modified with extra deck tanks to spirit fuel out of the country.

Officials said they would continue operations against trafficking networks that profit from steep price gaps with neighboring states.

Earlier this month, the IRGC said it had seized a Marshall Islands–flagged tanker off the Makran coast in the Gulf of Oman, after maritime security firms reported a ship being diverted toward Iranian waters by small craft.

Tehran says such operations are conducted under court orders to prevent illegal fuel or cargo transfers. Western officials and shipping sources have accused Iran of at times using maritime enforcement to gain leverage in regional and sanctions-related disputes.

Iran’s coastline and the Strait of Hormuz lie astride one of the world’s busiest energy corridors. Iranian forces have increased patrols there, describing the moves as efforts to safeguard national interests and curb smuggling.

NB: article sourced from Iran Media

28/11/2025

TUCOSWA LEADER WRITES FOR SWAZI BRIDGE: WHY ARE AFRICANS NOT OFFERING SOLIDARITY TO SA FOR USA BULLYING ?

By Sicelo Tswana

Right before our eyes South Africa is being publicly bullied by the United States, and the continent is watching in silence. Anyone who has followed Donald Trump’s behaviour can see how President Cyril Ramaphosa has been humiliated, treated not as the leader of an important African democracy but as an errant schoolboy. A junior member of the Trump administration even dismissed him as “running his mouth” for suggesting that the United States might still attend the G20 summit.

This episode follows the infamous Oval Office meeting where Trump repeated the false claim that white South African farmers were facing genocide and that their land was being seized unlawfully. Again there was silence from African capitals. If any condemnation was issued it was whispered and fearful, as if governments were terrified of upsetting Washington.

The contrast with Europe could not be sharper. When Trump publicly demeaned the Ukrainian president European leaders rallied immediately in defence of Kyiv. South Africa, by contrast, stood alone. Even when Pretoria took the courageous step of bringing Israel before the International Court of Justice few African governments offered public support. At the height of Israel’s assault on Gaza most of the continent remained quiet. Only a handful of civil society in countries such as Ghana, Kenya and Senegal spoke firmly. Namibia, shaped by its own experience of genocide, even confronted Germany for its uncritical support of Israel.

The same cannot be said of Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Eswatini, Botswana and many others. Their silence reveals a deeper problem: a continent that has lost the instinct of solidarity. It is the same silence that allowed an election to be stolen in Tanzania in full view of the world. Life is moving on as if nothing happened. Even the African Union, normally cautious to a fault, could not ignore it, yet there were no serious consequences. ECOWAS did not threaten sanctions, just as SADC quietly removed Eswatini from its agenda after the 2021 killings. Compare this with how swiftly regional bodies condemned the coup in Madagascar and threatened to isolate the island. They act with urgency when leaders are overthrown but not when citizens are. Is it a wonder then that we experiencing so many coups?

This selective outrage exposes a troubling reality. African solidarity is often reserved for political elites, especially deposed strongmen who find refuge in neighbouring states. The solidarity that should belong to citizens is thin and inconsistent. When Eswatini faced an uprising it was ordinary South Africans, not African governments, who marched in support of the people. When Tanzanians protested against electoral fraud it was the people of Kenya, not the region’s institutions, who stood with them.

We are becoming a continent of isolated shells, each country trapped in its own crises and afraid to speak for its neighbours. Poverty and political insecurity have created a climate of caution where governments prefer silence to principle. The price is high. When solidarity dies the powerful act with impunity, the vulnerable suffer alone and the continent loses its collective voice.

Africa cannot afford this fragmentation. The struggle for dignity, justice and freedom is shared across borders. If we do not rediscover our solidarity now we may find ourselves facing future crises alone, with no one left to speak for us.

NB: The author asked to write under a pseudo name for personal reasons

28/11/2025

“…. Internal correspondence and records reviewed by Inhlase show that the Ministry filled the post without advertising the vacancy, interviewing candidates, or involving the Civil Service Commission’s Promotions Board — steps required under Regulation 28 of the Civil Service Order, 1973.

The Phalala Medical Referral Fund is an Eswatini government programme that assists citizens with accessing specialist medical care. The Fund handles tens of millions in taxpayer money and determines whether critically ill emaSwati receive treatment locally or abroad.

The appointment, made in January 2025, came just weeks after the legal acting term of long-serving Nursing Sister Cynthia Maseko expired. Maseko was appointed Acting Administrator of the Fund in June 2024—her second time performing the role, after first acting in 2021 when a previous administrator left.

Her acting term was legally limited to six months, expiring in December 2024, after which the vacancy was supposed to be advertised and opened to competition under Regulation 28 of the Civil Service Order, 1973. Instead, the Ministry of Health secretly appointed a new administrator, Simangele Dlamini, through a process that the Ministry itself later conceded constituted an “unfair labour practice” and exceeded the lawful six-month limit for acting appointments.

Maseko—who had previously acted in 2021 and again from June to December 2024—was bypassed without explanation, despite her institutional memory and operational experience.

On 4 February 2025, after recognising that the Ministry’s actions breached mandatory recruitment procedures, Maseko instructed her lawyers to write to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) demanding that the appointment be reversed and the post advertised in accordance with the law. The pressure prompted a remarkable admission. On 28 March 2025, Acting Principal Secretary Ncamsile Mtshali issued a written response acknowledging that the Ministry had exceeded the six-month acting limit and that the appointment process constituted an unfair labour practice…..”

Click link to read full article

…Ministry of health admits it was unfair labour practice, commits another illegal appointment in bid to hide it …Court declares similar appointment void. By Zwelethu Dlamini The Ministry of Health quietly installed a new administrator to run the Phalala Fund through a process that violated mand....

27/11/2025

PERCY SIMELANE RUBBISHES MATLALA’S CLAIM OF ROYAL BIRTHDAY INVITATION

….Matlala spoke under oath of his links with the Queen Mother and how he was personally invited to attend this year’s King birthday

By staff reporter

MBABANE – King Mswati III’s spokesperson, Percy Simelane, has dismissed as false and misleading the testimony by South African businessman and attempted-murder accused Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala, who told a South African Parliamentary inquiry today that he received a personal invitation to attend the King’s birthday celebrations earlier this year from the Queen Mother.

Matlala made the claim on Thursday before the Ad Hoc Committee probing his background, identity, and alleged cross-border connections. During questioning by EFF leader Julius Malema, Matlala said he travelled to Eswatini on 19 April 2025 to attend the King’s Birthday celebration at Mbangweni Royal Residence, insisting the visit was above board and sanctioned by an invitation from Her Majesty the Indlovukazi.

However, Simelane has rubbished the statement, saying the monarch’s office has no record of Matlala being invited to any royal function, let alone the King’s private birthday celebration. He said royal invitations follow strict protocol and are documented, adding that “no such invitation was issued to Mr. Matlala.”

During the hearing, Malema pressed Matlala on his alleged Swazi origins, suggesting that he might have familial links to the kingdom. Matlala denied having roots in Eswatini and rejected claims that he is a Dlamini, saying the surname only appears in his maternal lineage in KwaZulu-Natal.

“We have no record of the invitation in question. It would therefore be difficult to say he was indeed invited by the Indlovukazi or not. Normally invitations are done quietly between the host and the invited person, unless the guest falls under the VIP or VVIP category,” Simelane said in an interview with Swazi Bridge.

Matlala is currently facing attempted murder charges in South Africa and is under scrutiny for alleged political and security links across the border. His assertion of royal access has now sparked further questions, with Simelane’s categorical denial adding a new twist to the parliamentary investigation.

27/11/2025

RIGHT OF REPLY: WHY THE ENPF CONVERSION IS SOUND AND SUSTAINABLE

……its a battle of ideas as ENPF’s Micah Nkabinde takes on CANGO Executive Director Thembinkosi Dlamini after Dlamini’s widely published take on the controversial conversion of ENPF

By Miccah Nkabinde, (ENPF Conversion Specialist)


It is with great respect for the on-going public debate that we respond to the concerns raised in the recent Times of Eswatini Sunday article by Mr Thembinkhosi Dlamini, the Executive Director of the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organisations (CANGO). His academic paper, titled: “The case for pension reform in Eswatini, Noise or Music”, raises important points.

As someone deeply involved in the design and actuarial work behind the Eswatini National Provident Fund (ENPF) conversion into a Defined Benefit (DB) pension scheme, I welcome this opportunity to clarify how the proposed model addresses these risks; and indeed offers a sustainable, inclusive social protection mechanism for EmaSwati.
Below, I respond, point by point, to Mr Dlamini’s main arguments.

The arguments raised by Mr. Dlamini regarding the financial risks and structural suitability of the proposed Defined Benefit (DB) ENPF scheme, as outlined in the Bill, warrant a detailed and technical assessment. The core objective of the ENPF Bill 2025 aligns directly with the National Social Security Policy of the Kingdom of Eswatini, namely, the alleviation of abject poverty in the member's retirement life by providing a predictable and sustainable income floor.

The choice of a DB structure for a Pillar I compulsory social security scheme is not only justifiable but, as argued below, is the model to achieve this national policy objective, given the inherent characteristics and constraints of the Eswatini economy Dlamini’s paper reads: “The proposal to establish the new NPF as a Defined Benefit (DB) scheme, where the benefit formula is guaranteed by law, is the most significant financial risk in the Bill.”

There is nothing wrong with a DB scheme provided it is actuarially valued and monitored. The proposed bill, as an example, differs from C102, in order to add cushion on better sustainability in future….

Click link for the full article here: https://swazibridge.com/article/?iywtrre=elCv

26/11/2025

MEDIA REPORTS: STATE TARGETS WHISTLEBLOWER WHILE LETTING FINANCIAL CRIMINALS WALK FREE

…..Manager now going to be a scapegoat and used as a deterrent to other managers with a conscious

By Dudu Lushaba

MBABANE – The Eswatini state has moved swiftly to arrest and charge Eswatini Financial Intelligence Unit (EFIU) manager Gcinekile Mavimbela, not for participating in financial crimes, but for allegedly exposing them, the media in Eswatini has reported.

Mavimbela, accused of leaking more than 890 000 confidential financial records, appeared before Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi at the Mbabane Magistrates Court on Monday. She faces charges under the Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism Prevention Act. She was remanded out of custody after posting E5 000 bail and is expected to return to court on Thursday.

Mavimbelas arrest has concerned human rights organisations and lawyers alike. Ndabenhle Hlathswayo, a Swazi lawyer based in Johannesburg, said Mavimbela’s arrest marked a striking contrast in priorities of the state. He said despite credible evidence contained in the leaked EFIU files pointing to suspicious transactions, money laundering rings, and politically connected individuals, the state has focused its investigative muscle on the alleged whistleblower rather than the actors implicated in the irregularities.

EFIU initially launched an internal probe into the alleged unauthorised disclosure, even though the leaked material formed the foundation of the Swazi Secrets investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). That global reporting project revealed how Eswatini’s financial system has been used to facilitate dubious dealings by corporations, politically exposed persons, and cross-border criminal networks.

ICIJ’s findings were far from vague. One report detailed how the EFIU detected over E67 million in suspicious transactions between November and December 2018. The money allegedly moved from a shadowy South African cash-in-transit company to a businessman named Schofield, who then channelled it to Mint of Eswatini in the Special Economic Zone before it eventually landed in Dubai. According to the reporting, Eswatini’s own authorities flagged the flow of funds as suspicious.

Yet none of the individuals or companies implicated in those transactions have faced the urgency, scrutiny, or legal consequences now directed at Mavimbela.

Instead, the state’s most decisive response has been aimed at a public official whose “crime,” critics argue, was having a conscience choosing to expose possible wrongdoing in a system that has long been criticised for opacity and selective enforcement.

“While the leaked documents painted a troubling picture of negligence, exploitation, and possible criminality within the financial sector, the spotlight has been turned on the person who allegedly revealed that truth, rather than those who may have abused the country’s financial system,” Hlathswako said in a telephonic interview.

Investigative Journalist Micah Reddy, who was involved in the investigations as part of International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) was shocked to learn that Mavimbela had been arrested. He could not comment on the new developments as yet instead stating that they will likely would like to do a follow up story.

NB; Swazi Bridge reporters, together with Open Secrets South Africa, collaborated with ICIJ in the publication of the Swazi Leaks investigative stories.

https://swazibridge.com/article/?iywtrre=elCu

26/11/2025

OPEN LETTER TO LWAZI GIGGS DLAMINI, ENAJ CHAIRPERSON

…. reflections of a newsroom old-timer who still believes in this craft

By Musa Ndlangamandla

Please allow me to open with warm and sincere congratulations on the revival of the Eswatini National Association of Journalists (ENAJ). This is a monumental step, not just organisationally, but symbolically. You, and your team, have brought back a structure that has historically anchored the identity, dignity, and professional cohesion of journalists in our country. For that, the entire fraternity is grateful. Umsebenti wenu uyancomeka kakhulu.

I further commend your executive for reviving the National Media Awards, to be held on 12 December 2025. Chairperson, Awards are not vanity; they document excellence, set standards, and inspire young journalists to aim higher. The ongoing newsroom visits (vusela exercises) leading up to the awards ceremony are equally important. When leaders walk the corridors, shake hands with reporters, sit with editors, and listen to producers, they send a strong message that professional unity is possible, and that journalism is not a lonely trade after all.

As someone who stepped into the newsroom for the first time in August 1993, fresh from varsity with my shirt tucked awkwardly into oversized trousers and my heart pounding with ambition, I look at today’s landscape with both nostalgia and urgency.

When I walked into the Times of Swaziland, as it then was called, 32 years ago, I was fortunate to witness, and later work alongside, a generation of young, hungry reporters who would go on to redefine Eswatini’s media landscape.
In my time I have watched, Qhawe 'Ntfulini' Mamba, Mbongeni 'Bingo's Jive' Mbingo, Martin 'Tinas' Dlamini, Sabelo ' Msabhino' Dlamini grow and excel in their career paths. Each of them clawed their way up through long nights, relentless hustle, and a near-stubborn devotion to the craft, eventually occupying corner offices, shaping national narratives, and making history. In the case of Qhawe Mamba, Zweli Martin Dlamini and Charles Matsebula, they went on to found and own internationally recognised media powerhouses.

In my own journey, I had the immense privilege of working with the iconic James ‘Mnetfu’ Dlamini, a fearless journalist whose dedication bordered on mythical. Today’s journalists would not believe me when I say James was such an avid reader he would walk from his flat in Msunduza all the way to the Times offices, a novel open in his hands, reading diligently as he moved through the city. The newsroom of that era was a different planet.

No computers, no cellphones, and editors whose tempers and expectations could shake the walls. I was shaped by greats. Men and women like Mashumi Thwala, Vusi Sibisi, Jabulani Matsebula, Lathu Jonga, Timothy Simelane, Sibusiso Mngadi, Cynthia Simelane, Sandile Ntshakala, Bongiwe Zwane, Twinny Nxumalo, Gordon Mbuli, and many others. I was shaped by long conversations with Mbuso Matsenjwa, Banele Ginindza, Sabelo Masuku, Knowledge Makhanya, Bheki ‘Gamassaulting’ Gama and Martin Matse; to name a few.

Why, I still stand humbly under the towering shadow of the greatest journalist Eswatini and indeed Southern Africa has ever produced, my brother Ni**od Mabuza, whom I am privileged to have on speed dial. To say I learned from the best is a criminal understatement. And it is because of this grounding that I look at today’s crop of journalists with genuine admiration for their resilience, their adaptability, their modern instincts, and their courage to keep telling stories in a world that is faster, noisier, and more unforgiving than the one we inherited.

The newsroom I joined relied on landlines, fax machines, telex machines, and the discipline of going out to chase a story on foot. Today, breaking news travels faster than pens can move. Yet, something essential about journalism remains unchanged. That is, its duty to inform, entertain, explain, educate, investigate, challenge, and protect.

Chairperson, allow me to touch briefly on the rise of citizen journalism. It is here. It is powerful. It is not going anywhere. In today's world everyone with a smartphone can be, and is, a journalist of some sort. Let me say from the outset that I, for one, welcome it.

Eswatini’s fast-rising digital pe*******on is reshaping how stories are told, shared, and challenged. According to recent Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM) indicators, the country now sits at over 97% mobile pe*******on, with approximately 820,000 active smartphones in circulation and digital adoption growing at double-digit speed each year. This means a citizen with a handset is now a producer, publisher, witness and watchdog, all in real time.

These numbers confirm the simple truth that news no longer waits for the newsroom. Communities report as events unfold; videos surface before official statements are drafted; and public debates ignite long before traditional media gathers on the ground. This, Chairperson, is not a threat. It is an evolution. It is a change that Eswatini must embrace.

Citizen journalism, powered by near-universal mobile access, is now a permanent pillar of the national information ecosystem, demanding collaboration, verification, and recognition rather than resistance.

Sadly, citizen journalism is often portrayed as the adversary of professional journalism but it is not. It is simply a reflection of a society in motion. It empowers communities to document their own realities, especially in moments when professional journalists may not be present. That is not competition; that is additional documentation of truth.

If anything, Bazalwane, citizen journalism has challenged us, the trained, the experienced, and the accredited, to rethink our approach. To stop being satisfied with merely reporting events. To become more. To become more analytical, more interrogative, more independent, more useful to the public.

When citizens break the news, professional journalists must step in to do the following, and more: verify, contextualise, explain, probe, ask the uncomfortable questions, examine consequences, and demand accountability.
That is where our value lies. Our value is not confined in speed, but in depth.

Chairperson, journalists today must embrace a new boldness. Our society is evolving. Institutions are modernising. Power is shifting and decentralising. In this environment, timid journalism is a disservice to the nation.
We must demand transparency from those we have sent to control and steer the levers of authority on our behalf as the wider society.

Not as activists, but as professionals who understand that the social contract we have with those we have given the privilege to lead us grows in the light and shrinks in the shadows.
Our articles and broadcast material must not read like extensions of press releases. We must at all times challenge contradictions; clarify vague statements; bring in expert perspectives; expose inconsistencies, and highlight what remains unanswered. That is how we earn trust.

Chairperson, I speak with sadness when I observe some of our legacy media faltering and being stuck in the past. Once mighty, once feared, once benchmark-setters, they are struggling to adapt to the new and emerging media landscape. Some for resisting bringing on board, young, fresh minds to infuse new ideas and take the publications further in this fast changing media world that is digitally aligned.

Why should a publication of 2025 look like an old archive publication from 2001? Yet, some do. And those who drive them are steeped in past glory and nostalgic victories which have become archaic….”

Click link to read full article

Please allow me to open with warm and sincere congratulations on the revival of the Eswatini National Association of Journalists (ENAJ). This is a monumental step, not just organisationally, but symbolically.

25/11/2025

WHAT CAN AFRICAN TRADITIONAL LEADERS LEARN FROM MISIZULU?

….The Zulu King’s quiet cultural shift is to be applauded. The king marries within his age bracket and affirms single mothers as worthy of love and marriage too. This is not true of the Shembe church practice or King Mswati’s recent examples

By Editrial comment

One thing the Zulu monarch cannot be faulted on is how he has shown that culture can adapt and change. For all his other controversies King Misuzulu has demonstrated something rare in today’s world. He has chosen partners within his age group and he has affirmed through his marriages that single mothers are full human beings who deserve respect, love and dignity. In a time when online alpha male commentators belittle older unmarried women and glorify young girls the Zulu King has chosen the opposite path.

This is an important cultural intervention. Many societies across Africa now struggle with harmful narratives that insult women and infantilise them while excusing irresponsible male behaviour. The rise of the red pill movement has made this worse. It has become a noisy echo chamber where men insult women’s bodies, their age and their past relationships while holding almost no standards for themselves.

In KwaZulu Natal the influence of the Shembe Church has also normalised deeply troubling relationships where teenage girls are given to much older men. These arrangements are justified as Zulu or African culture even though they violate the dignity and safety of young girls. The recent pictures of elderly men marrying children shocked many people yet this problem has been building for years under the cover of culture.

This is why the Zulu King’s example matters. By choosing adult women of a similar age and openly affirming the worth of single mothers he challenges a harmful norm. By publicly rebuking men who chase young girls he uses his authority to remind society that culture must protect the vulnerable not exploit them.

Leadership like this changes attitudes. When a king shows that love and marriage belong to adults of equal standing society pays attention. Norms shift. Conversations change. Even in Eswatini where harmful practices against girls continue to be defended as tradition, the example set by the Zulu King offers hope. It proves that African culture can evolve without losing its identity.

The Zulu monarch has shown that to honour culture is not to freeze it. It is to refine it. Is our King learning?

Visit www.swazibridge.com for more stories and political commentary.

25/11/2025

“….Masina is one of hundreds of people in eSwatini living with ostomies—medical conditions that require a colostomy, urostomy or ileostomy pouch to collect body waste. But in a health system buckling under chronic medical shortages, the simple plastic-and-adhesive pouch that keeps these patients alive has become a rare commodity.

After being discharged from a private hospital where supplies were always available, Masina now relies on public hospitals that frequently run out. His family carer travels monthly to Mbabane Government Hospital to fetch his pouches—and increasingly returns empty-handed.

Interviews and field reporting by Inhlase reveal that eSwatini’s ostomates face a silent but devastating crisis: a nationwide shortage of colostomy, ileostomy and urostomy bags that forces patients to reuse worn-out pouches, improvise with plastic bread bags, or go without altogether.

Masina’s case is not an exception. Recently, another ostomate made headlines when she posted on social media pictures of how she has resorted to using bread plastic bags as his colostomy bags. She glued and taped the bread plastic bags to the abdomen due to the shortage of proper colostomy supplies in the public health facilities. However, this was met with deafening silence from civil society and government, aggravated by the conspicuous mainstream media’s inattention to the ostomate’s predicament…”

Click link to read full article

By Nokukhanya Musi When 46-year-old road accident survivor Mkhulisi Masina* wheels himself across the small bedroom he now rarely leaves, his greatest fear is not pain or paralysis—it is the soundless leak that signals his colostomy bag has failed again. The stoma on his abdomen, an artificial o....