Source: Amnesty International –
By Khanyo Farisè
In Eswatini’s second biggest city of Manzini, Sisanda Mavimbela is once again preparing for court.
As the Co-Director of Programmes and Advocacy for Eswatini Sexual and Gender Minorities (ESGM), a group which works to advance LGBTI rights, Sisanda has become all too familiar with the ritual of gathering documents, revisiting judgments, speaking to lawyers and asking the courts, again, to affirm what should never have been in dispute: that everyone has a right to freedom of association.
ESGM has been fighting in the courts for this constitutional right since 2019, when its application to register as a non-profit organization was first rejected. After challenging the decision in the High Court, ESGM eventually secured a landmark Supreme Court ruling in 2023 which declared that the Registrar’s approach was unconstitutional and ordered the relevant minster to reconsider the application. In his reconsideration, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade in September 2024 declined ESGM’s application on the basis that Swazi “customary law does not recognize same-sex relationships”.
In August 2025, ESGM again approached the courts challenging the Minister’s grounds for rejecting its application. The matter is still before the courts, but ESGM has made it clear that it has no intention of backing down.
In Eswatini, the struggle for LGBTI rights is also a struggle for civic freedom. As the government intensifies its attacks on civic space, LGBTI groups are once again being presented as a threat to culture and national identity.
Khanyo Farisè
Under international human rights law, the right to freedom of association guarantees the rights of all individuals, without discrimination to form associations and to jointly carry out activities or pursue common goals. Restricting this right is a repressive tactic which undermines human rights in general and, in this case, with a discriminatory impact. The government in Esawtini has used such tactics to restrict civil society organizations which play a vital role in scrutinizing state power, documenting abuses, and mobilizing public debate.