Minister appoints terrorist group member

MBABANE – Did Minister for Public Works and Transport Chief Ndlaluhlaza Ndwandwe breach the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008?

This follows the minister’s appointment of a member of an organisation that was specified as a terrorist entity to the Eswatini Road Safety Council. It has been observed that the appointment of Nontsetselelo Nkambule, the Treasurer General of the proscribed Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) has sparked significant legal and political controversy.

Adding fuel to fire is the recent police statement seeking public assistance in locating Nkambule to help the law enforcers in determining the authenticity of a reported kidnapping and attempted murder case.   The appointment, which was announced on November 25, 2025, is understood to be a direct violation of the Suppression of Terrorism Act, 2008.

This is understood to be raising serious questions about the alignment between government’s administrative actions and its national security legislation.

While the minister announced the Board with the intention of ushering in a renewed mandate for the 2025–2028 term, a closer examination of Nkambule’s profile reveals a conflict with the country’s laws. She serves as the treasurer general of SWAYOCO, the youth wing of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO).

In its profile, SWAYOCO describes itself as a militant wing of PUDEMO.

It must be said that both organisations and two others were proscribed as terrorist entities by the Eswatini Government, a pronouncement originally made by the late Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini.

In terms of the law, it was facilitated by former Attorney General Majahenkhaba Dlamini. Majahenkhaba, the retired judge of the Supreme Court, exercised his powers vested in the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

It is said that the legal implications of this appointment are rooted in Section 19 of the Suppression of Terrorism Act. This section unequivocally states that any person who is a member or who professes to be a member of a terrorist group commits an offence.

Upon conviction, such a person is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

According to legal experts, it is through police mercy that members of proscribed entities are not charged under Section 19 of the Act.

Given that Nkambule is a serving executive member of SWAYOCO, an entity listed as a terrorist group, her appointment to a state body appears to contravene the very legislation she is accused of breaching. The Act allows for a defence only if the person can prove the entity was not a terrorist group when they joined or that they ceased participation after the proscription, neither of which applies to an active treasurer general.

The history of this proscription dates to the enactment of the Suppression of Terrorism Act in 2008, following a period of intensified unrest.

The law was enacted soon after an explosion at a bridge near one of the palaces, an incident in which two individuals, including a South African national, were killed. Police alleged the men, linked to PUDEMO and SWAYOCO, had planned to destroy the bridge. This was the culmination of a bombing campaign that had seen the intensity of attacks increase since 1995, when a petrol bomb extensively damaged the Houses of Parliament at Lobamba.

A terrible and fatal bomb incident occurred in the 1990s when it demolished the Deputy Prime Minister’s (DPM) office. Certain members of PUDEMO and SWAYOCO fled the country and are still in exile up to date. A security guard died. Under the provisions of the Act, specifically Section 28, the minister (prime minister) is empowered to declare an entity ‘specified’ if there are reasonable grounds to believe it has committed or facilitated a terrorist act, a status that legally binds SWAYOCO and PUDEMO to this day.

Despite these serious legal overtones, the announcement of the Road Safety Council was framed by Minister Ndwandwe as a progressive step towards governance and safety. The newly constituted Board was tasked with replacing the outgoing council whose term expired in July 2025.

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