In his Good Friday message, Mswati said Eswatini would not recognise same\u2011sex relationships or marriages, describing them as the \u201cspirit of Sodom and Gomorrah\u201d. Reports have also emerged that Minister of Education Owen Nxumalo warned pupils could face expulsion if found engaging in same\u2011sex relationships.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Speaking to Channel Africa on Tuesday, ESGM Co\u2011Director for programmes and advocacy Sisanda Mavimbela said the organisation was \u201cexceptionally upset\u201d by the remarks, given the weight such statements carry in an absolute monarchy. \u201cWords like these coming from a king have a serious impact on what happens to people on the ground,\u201d Mavimbela said. \u201cWe have seen this before.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She cited a recent case in which six schoolgirls were expelled after similar remarks by education officials. The school principal made the decision shortly before retiring. ESGM intervened after families sought help, engaging the Eswatini Human Rights Commission. The girls have since been reinstated, but Mavimbela said the damage extended beyond that case. \u201cWe are now hearing from children being bullied at school,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is much bigger than leadership realises.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mavimbela warned that such rhetoric legitimises discrimination and violence, making it harder for sexual and gender minorities to access basic services such as education, healthcare and identity documents. She said hate crimes, including corrective rape, remain a serious concern in a country already struggling with gender\u2011based violence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
She also expressed fears that the remarks could embolden further legal and administrative restrictions. ESGM and other LGBTIQ+ organisations have faced repeated refusals to register, despite High Court rulings affirming freedom of association.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Looking ahead, ESGM called for meaningful dialogue with national leadership and policymakers, alongside continued community education. \u201cMany Swatis are understanding once they have information,\u201d Mavimbela said. \u201cThe real disconnect is with leadership. We are calling on them to engage with us and understand the real impact of these statements.\u201d<\/p>\n
–ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":31046,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-31045","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM) has strongly condemned public remarks made by King Mswati III during his Easter address, warning that such statements are already having harmful consequences for sexual and gender minorities, including children.","published_date":"","news_description":"Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM) has strongly condemned public remarks made by King Mswati III during his Easter address, warning that such statements are already having harmful consequences for sexual and gender minorities, including children.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31045","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31045\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31047,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/31045\/revisions\/31047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31046"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31045"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=31045"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}