Eswatini’s LGBTQ community is “mounting and waving their flags”

Editor’s Note: This story contains references to sexual violence. 

MANZINI, Eswatini – On the evening of July 2 2018, Mapezu Kunene was filled with anxiety and anticipation for the Pride march happening the next day at the Prince of Wales sports ground in Mbabane, Swaziland. The thirty-one-year-old found herself caught in the uncertainty about the reactions of authorities. However, she held on to hope. 

“[That] night I posted my outfit on social media showing everybody who cared that I was ready,” Kunene recalls. “I couldn’t wait for tomorrow!” 

On the morning of the march, she received numerous calls from fellow LGBTIQ friends and allies as early as 6 o’clock offering transport to the venue. 

“I arrived early in Mbabane. I met excited Pride members and allies. We hugged and kissed and hurried to Prince of Wales where we mounted our flags and banners,” Kunene narrates.

Kunene, an activist and member of the LGBTQ+ community, embarked on her journey of advocacy shortly after finishing high school. Witnessing the enduring stigma and discrimination faced by LGBTQ+ individuals, she felt compelled to take action and sow the seeds of change.

“I told myself that such an attitude should change. And I was determined to be part of that change,” Kunene says. 

She has built up a defence against the barrage of hateful homophobic remarks developing a tough exterior like that of a ‘crocodile.’ Motivated by the need to confront prejudice Kunene made the firm choice to participate in the march of 2018.

“As a physically built masculine woman,” Kunene narrates, “each time when I’m shopping in town, I hardly come back without getting a negative comment, a stern look or an insult from strangers.” 

Kunene’s experience is not unique.

Melusi Simelane, age 32, a former Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM) Executive Director and a board member at Minority Africa, is no stranger to the violations against minorities in Eswatini. As part of the organisers of the pride march of 2018, that moment held a personal meaning for him. 

Today, he serves as the Board Chairman of ESGM, and Civic Rights Programme Manager at Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC). 

“I am now an openly gay man but my journey was paved by pain and struggle,” he recalls candidly. “In the midst of anti-gay sentiments from the church, tradition and state authorities, I had accepted that I will never talk openly about my sexuality.” 

Raised in a conventional Christian household that seldom allowed discussions about sexuality, Simelane contemplated how he found solace in his family’s unawareness of his sexual orientation. Despite being an open secret among many of his siblings and cousins, Simelane was content with the unspoken understanding within his family.

“But things changed when I got to boarding school for the very first time. I experienced some form of confidence and was proud of who I am,” he says. Just when things seemed to be getting better for him, Simelane was raped by a close friend. He remembers the pain and shame he suffered in silence. 

“I started to learn about shocking experiences fellow LGBTIQ community go through and the dire experiences they are forced to endure. That set in motion my journey in activism and advocacy,” says Simelane. 

After working together at Rock of Hope, where they fought for the rights of LGBTQ+ people Kunene found herself caught in a whirlwind of emotions when Simelane suggested the groundbreaking concept of arranging Eswatini’s Pride parade.

“Before hosting Pride, we used to host the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) in our private, enclosed spaces which had a lot of fear on its own,” Kunene says, adding, “Imagine getting a backlash from that small thing…then boom! Melusi came and told us that we’ll host Pride March!  

“I asked myself: Is Melusi serious? Is he ready for all the consequences? But the excitement came back later when we mounted and waved our flags. I was emotional when I saw my community coming from all corners of the country [and] filled the Prince of Wales sports ground. Some even came from South Africa.” 

Even though, Eswatini TV, the national broadcaster, did not televise the march, the event received coverage from mainstream print media as well as international news agencies such as AFP and Reuters.

As expected, the government made efforts to downplay the event. In an attempt to minimise publicity, the organisers were given less prominent and behind-the-scenes routes through the streets of the capital city. 

“Rather than granting permission to march in the central business district (CBD) or the bustling streets near the bus rank terminus where crowds gather, we were allocated less significant streets,” Kunene recalls.

However, the permission to march on its own, was a sign of hope towards the acceptance of the LGBTIQ community to the broader Swazi society. 

Simelane was excited to see the fruits of his labour becoming a reality. The day’s event was without issues. It was characterised by the waving of rainbow flags and costumes depicting Pride colours. Face paints, the dances, the laughter and chatter amongst friends and lovers beautified the day. 

“We struggled considering the politics of Swaziland being an authoritarian, absolute monarchy,” says Simelane, adding, “It was not easy to bring Pride, because anything that has to do with human rights in Swaziland, there is always trouble with it.”

ESGM’s success in hosting the 2018 Pride march, of course, was not a solo effort but a partnership with other stakeholders.

“We were able to work with many partners. And not only diplomatic corps but also the Human Rights Commission and the few other local lawyers who made sure that we had the successful  Pride,” says Simelane. 

Unfortunately, the continuity of this tradition was disrupted. In 2019, the organisers hosted an event at the Theatre Club in Mbabane instead of organising a march like the previous year. In 2020, ESGM and its partners were unable to commemorate Pride due to stringent COVID-19 regulations that prohibited public gatherings. The June 29 civil unrest in 2021 further impeded their plans as “Marshal law” banned any marches in the cities and towns.

One of the partners is Rock of Hope, an organisation that since 2012 has been fighting for LGBTIQ rights.

Rock of Hope’s outgoing Executive Director, Sanele Sibiya acknowledges the regression in the gains that the Pride march of 2018 had made. 

“We couldn’t get a street to march. But I have noticed that the resistance has become more subtle.” Sibiya says. “They’re going to cite a law or regulation that doesn’t allow a certain entity to do certain things, we have seen that around Pride, you going there to negotiate, but they won’t say it to your face that ‘We don’t want you to march because you are LGBTIQ,’ it’s either they will use a clause in the Public Order Act or they will always have something that you will have to contend with.”

In 2022, ESGM’s activism took another heavy blow when the judges of the high court rejected the organisation’s bid to officially register as an LGBTIQ organisation. 

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Judge Mumcy Dlamini ruled that the real purpose of the organisation was to spread information about same-sex sexual practices, and condemned the publicity of such issues.

Simelane and Sibiya expressed their disappointment that resonated throughout the LGBTQ+ community as the ruling came at a time when there was hope for progress within government institutions. Despite this setback ESGM has appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court and is awaiting a verdict.

Meanwhile Simelane and other advocates for rights in Eswatini are facing increased challenges especially considering the situations in African countries. Simelane specifically emphasises his profound disappointment with Uganda’s government criminalising homosexuality. He anxiously anticipates that conservative regimes, such as Eswatinis might be influenced by Uganda’s actions. 

“It is also saddening to see developments in the region where there is that backlash whether it’s Kenya or Namibia because there is a pending Supreme Court judgement or Ghana where there are still debating a bill that seeks to further punish LGBTIQ people,” Simelane says, “Or worse Uganda where we saw President Museveni enacting that bill into law that gives a death sentence to what they are calling ‘aggravated homosexuality’ and one shudders to think what exactly would ‘aggravated homosexuality’ mean.”

While in pursuit of attaining recognition and friendly laws, ESGM still has an arduous task ahead to fight policies and laws that trample on minority rights. 

The government of Eswatini is currently making changes to the Registration of Births, Marriages and Deaths Bill of 2022. The Parliament has allowed the transgender community to offer their suggestions and participate in the proposed revisions to the bill.

According to Simelane there is a topic being discussed between the trans community and the parliament’s portfolio committee. It revolves around including intersex individuals, in birth certificates and gender change procedures. The debate mainly focuses on whether the designation of intersex should be mentioned on birth certificates or if it should remain with the existing choices of male or female.

Sibiya commends the Senate for giving the LGBTIQ community an opportunity to express their concerns even though they faced a setback in a case the previous year.

“We have seen some openness on the side of the government to work with the LGBTIQ community,” Sibiya says. “We were consulted [by the government] when this gender policy was reviewed. But we still have the legislative and the judiciary on the other side of the fence but the executive is trying to involve us and we have seen a lot of positive movements.” 

However, the proposed bill does show shades of a pushback. Some stakeholders submitted that Intersex should be classified as a disability. 

“I think that is a sad reality,” says Sibiya. “Even if you look at the history, [being a member of the] LGBTIQ community was once classified as a psychological disorder, but what gets me thinking and worrying is the fact that when you talk of intersex persons, it’s a biological reality! It now brings us back to the issue of ‘Do you want us now to play God?’ If Intersex persons are born like that, why does society think we have a right to choose for that person? No one should play God at the end of the day.” 

Simelane agrees and also argues that freedom of expression is a basic right. “I think we as an LGBTIQ community are calling for freedom of expression, freedom for everyone to be who they are.”

The journey for minority rights is still long and winding. However, many members of the LGBTIQ community like Kunene acknowledge the contribution of the Pride march of 2018. 

According to her, the march left fond memories to cherish for a lifetime. It left Kunene with that important sense of familyhood and belonging. It also reignited the valour to “fight on and fight on until ultimate victory is achieved.”

“As a human rights activist, that event triggered the necessary discussions in the broader society on living with the LGBTIQ community,” she says. “I saw a potential of success in terms of visibility and awareness. Considering that society has heard all along that there is the LGBTIQ community, but that day they saw that we exist and live amongst them. And that we are human beings fighting for our rights.” 

Edited/Reviewed by: PK Cross, Uzoma Ihejirika, and Caleb Okereke.