Swaziland

The People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) of Swaziland has condemned the decision to spend $45m on a luxury jet for the mountain kingdom's monarch. "We are outraged by the government's decision to secretly and lavishly spend taxpayers' money and aid funds in this manner whilst tens of thousands of Swazis are severely affected by the current drought," the organisation said in a statement.

As the food crisis gets worse in most parts of Swaziland, many people, particularly women, have resorted to prostitution and crime as the only means of survival in the face of the ravaging famine hitting Swaziland. A majority of families along the Lavumisa-Manzini highway are now giving away their female children, some as young as 12 years, to truck drivers who pay at least R50 for a round of sexual intercourse.

Swaziland's High Court has acquitted the leader of a banned opposition political party on charges of sedition. Mario Masuku, leader of the Peoples United Democratic Party (Pudemo), was arrested almost two years ago after allegedly calling for the overthrow of King Mswati III at public gatherings in Mbabane and Manzini.

A wave of baby murders are commanding front-page news in the small conservative kingdom of Swaziland. But while editorial writers are denouncing "mother murderers", women's rights groups argue the rising number of abandoned babies are a symptom of gender inequality in this traditional society.

Children as young as ten years now collect the meagre rations of maize, beans and cooking oil handed out by aid agencies in Swaziland. The youngsters have become the heads of their families since their parents have either died of HIV/Aids, or are extremely ill with the virus.

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