DPM WARNS: SURGE IN SODOMY CASES IN ESWATINI

LOBAMBA – The Deputy Prime Minister (DPM) Thulisile Dladla says sodomy is one social ill that is currently taking over the country.
Sodomy is the crime of forcing another person to perform oral or anal sex. Dladla gave the warning yesterday in Parliament during her office’s second quarter performance report debate by the Senate portfolio committee. The DPM said the country has been taken over by social ills perpetrated against boys and girls. The DPM said social ills are not unique to Eswatini, but the entire world is facing similar challenges. She said they have noted that there are people from other countries who enter Eswatini with the purpose of abusing young girls and boys because they have money.

Sex work

She highlighted that in other regions of the world, sex work has been legalised, but the issue is the abuse or luring children into sex work. “The abuse of young children, especially sodomy committed against young boys is unacceptable,” she said. The DPM said if sodomy is not addressed, the country would find itself sinking deep in another social ill that can not be fought. She said to clamp down on sodomy; they are working with law enforcers to follow the issue in order to protect the children who are exposed to sodomy.  Dladla said the people who come into the country do not only force the children into sodomy and sex work, but human trafficking as well.“Human trafficking is also high because it is another social ill that is taking over,” she said.

The DPM said currently, the country is facing a high use of illegal drugs because at the beginning, there was the notion that Eswatini was just being used as a conduit, but today emaSwati are using drugs.  She also cited alcohol abuse and stressed the need to clamp down on people who sell alcohol to children. She highlighted that there are a lot of interventions that the DPM’s Office has put in place in order to get to the root cause of the social ills. The DPM was responding to a concern raised by Senator Princess Temaswati. The senator stated that there are children all over the streets are victims of all crimes.

She said due to their vulnerability, the children ended up being victims of all criminal activities and targeted by predators. The princess added that some of the children are seen in the streets selling late at night, which she said made her wonder when they get time to rest and do their school work.  “What scares me the most is them being exposed to dangerous circumstances,” she said. She said there is a need for the DPM’s Office, with all stakeholders involved, to have institutions that will house and protect the children who are vulnerable so that they can enjoy being children.

Parents

The DPM also shared that those who are not looking for their children and parents would be brought to book, as her office will soon be launching a programme as they received transport assistance from development partners. It is worth noting that the DPM’s Office in the second quarter report for the 2024/25 financial year, reported that the Eswatini National Child Helpline 116, received 537 calls/cases from all four regions of the country. Manzini recorded the highest number of calls of 209 cases, followed by Hhohho at 142 cases, then Lubombo at 97 cases and lastly is Shiselweni Region with 89 cases.  The DPM reported that violence against children continued to be the greatest challenge occurring in Eswatini, as it comprises of 71 per cent of all the reported cases this quarter. This, she said, implied that interventions around this category of child rights violations require a spiralled approach. She reported that Kwaluseni Inkhundla continued to receive the highest number of reported cases at 56, followed by Mtfongwaneni Inkhundla at 37.

On another note, Dladla reported that they had also observed an increase in teenage pregnancies among girls aged 13-14 years. She said these teenage mothers continue to access health services. However, when brought in for examination and questioning, these adolescent girls refuse to undergo examinations for evidence collection purposes.
“They also withhold information regarding the father of the child they are carrying. Suspected perpetrators of violence are now reportedly relocating to Mozambique and South Africa after being reported for gender-based violence (GBV) or violence against children (VAC) cases.”

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