Matthew Hill, Bloomberg News Firefighters extinguish a fire at a supermarket in Manzini, Eswatini, on June 30, 2021. , Photographer: -/AFP
(Bloomberg) Africaâs last absolute monarch will break his silence on Friday, weeks after police and the army quashed some of the most violent pro-democracy protests yet in Eswatini.
While the crackdown restored calm, the deaths of at least 27 people during a week of unrest drew renewed international scrutiny of the kingdom. Protesters were demanding King Mswati III, whoâs ruled the South African neighbor for more than three decades, cedes some control.
Mswati, 53, has called a national policy meeting, known as a Sibaya and that usually only takes place once a year, for the same day activists plan to resume demonstrations. As governments including the U.S. called for dialogue, authorities have insisted that any amendments to the constitution must go through parliament. That means
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