Eswatini snubs protesters in army recruitment - report

The Eswatini army has said that those who participated in pro-democracy protests last July will not be enrolled in the military in the ongoing recruitment, the Times of Swaziland website has reported.

The report quoted a senior army officer saying that "it would be wrong to recruit people who would then turn guns against army officers".

"The army cannot recruit people who are not loyal and respectful to the status quo," the unnamed army officer said.

Sergeant Thamsanqa Mdlovu, a police commander, said the army would review CCTV footage to check if any of those applied to be recruited participated in the protests.

"Let me just advise and warn you that the vetting process will not only focus on taking fingerprints, but also your behaviour at community level. It will be unfortunate if some of you have participated in the unrest [...] because you will not be considered," Sergeant Mdlovu said.

Civil society and opposition groups have been protesting to demand political reforms in the tiny southern African kingdom that is the continent's last absolute monarchy.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: AFP