Forced evictions are like a cancer in the era of human rights. Swaziland has had its fair share of this nemesis. It has managed to rear its ugly head over and over again in recent years. The adoption of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland in 2005 and its eventual coming into force in 2006 did not assist the poor, voiceless victims of forced evictions.

Swaziland has a rich history of forcibly evicting people from land without the due process of the law and without offering any compensation. This has lead to a high level of indifference within particular sectors of society, leading to ambivalence of public opinion on the deleterious effects of forced evictions.

The recent eviction and demolition of 18 homesteads at KaShali area outside Manzini sent shockwaves throughout the tiny kingdom. The Centre is currently monitoring this case and documenting the violations that emanated from these evictions.

The Centre's director also sent a letter to the Times of Swaziland Newspaper, which was published immediately after the demolitions, setting out in human rights terms the various violations of fundamental rights that occured at KaShali. This was part of the Centre's mandate to raise awareness and educate the Swazi public on fundamental rights and freedoms contained in both the Constitution and in the international instruments Swaziland has signed and ratified.

The Centre is also currently assisting an old man, Mr Steenkamp, who is facing eviction from a private farm outside the city of Manzini. Mr Steenkamp's case is rather intriguing since although he had been served with an eviction order, when the Centre offered him assistance, the court file on the basis of which the order was apparently 'granted' could not be found.

The land issue in Swaziland is compounded by the country's land tenure system. In terms of Swazi law, there are two main land tenure system, namely Swazi National Law (SNL) and Title Deed Land (TDL). SNL is that portion of land that is customarily administered and presided over by traditional chiefs. In terms of the Constitution, SNL vests in the iNgwenyama, who holds it in trust for the Swazi nation. (iNgwenyama is the same person as the King, save that as iNgwenyama he is the customary leader of the Swazi nation. In other words, iNgwenyama differs from the King in that the former is a customary office, whilst the latter is an executive office created by the Constitution). Although the ownership of SNL involves a trust relationship between the iNgwenyama and the citizens of Swaziland, on whose behalf he holds the land, access to SNL is not structured and security of tenure does not exist.

Access to SNL is regulated by traditional chiefs, who are constitutionally defined as the footstools of the iNgwenyama. A citizen of Swaziland does not legally own the piece of land that they settle on. They only have user rights, which constitutionally are limited to 'normal domestic purposes'. The term normal domestic purposes is not defined in the Constitution. When a Swazi citizen wishes to access land located on tribal land (SNL), he or she approaches the chief in control of that particular land. The approach is not directly to the chief, but through an agent who introduces the applicant for land. Once an agreement is reached, the applicant pays a cow or its equivalent to the area's chief and a portion of land is pointed out to him or her. This process is known as kukhonta. There is no formal record keeping of these transactions, leaving the user of the land open to future challenges.

TDL on the other hand, comprises that part of the land which is privately held and own by individuals, who are actually issued title deeds by the state apparatus. This introduses an element of class and race, as most poor and black people do not afford the expensive TDL.

Forced evictions have and continue to take place in Swaziland on both SNL and TDL. The coming into force of the Constitution did not help the situtation. Some evictions are politically motivated, whilst others are fuelled by corruption and the abuse of the court system to get rid of poor settlers without compensation.

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