Tourism to Eswatini is likely to be disrupted this week as pro-democracy activists in the country, joined by fellow activists in South Africa, have declared this week Eswatini Global Week of Action.

In particular, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) has vowed to blockade the country by closing border posts on Thursday (September 9).

Cosatu is working in partnership with its Eswatini counterpart, the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (Tucoswa), to protest against issues such as human rights abuses. The trade union bodies will also use the week of Eswatini’s independence anniversary (September 6) to draw attention to “what independence actually means,” according to a Tucoswa spokesperson.

The main border post with South Africa at Oshoek, along with Matsamo, will be targeted with closure. In the past, Eswatini police have been mostly successful at keeping protesters away from demonstrations.

Local media are also predicting a fuel shortage in the country if border blockades occur. A severe fuel shortage resulted from the June-July uprising.