The new book are many more or less thinly veiled criticisms of the fictional Soshangane society - and by extension Swaziland - and the absolute monarchy that controls everything from the economy to the definition of culture

In the undemocratic state of Swaziland, House of Our Pride (HOOP), an organisation fighting for the rights of Swazi Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people are also ensuring day-to-day care and survival, medical and otherwise, for LGBT people

The soft drinks manufacturing multi-national bowed to pressure after hundreds of thousands of people appended their signatures to a campaign by Oxfam demanding that Coca-Cola cut links with companies supplying it with sugar from cane grown on grabbed lands

Political parties do not take part in elections, only individuals do. And they are not allowed to campaign. It is a farce

There is likely to be a crackdown on NGOs and movements ahead of the election. Political parties are illegal in Swaziland

The youth describe the upcoming elections as undemocratic and meaningless because they will simply consolidate the monarch’s absolute power

Living conditions in the camps have worsened over the years and Saharawis believe this is part of the strategy by Morocco to push the people in the illegally occupied territory into submission.

A recent survey carried out by Polisario’s youth wing found that over 85 per cent of the young Saharawis polled were in favour of ending the current ceasefire with Morocco and returning to war.

Swaziland’s democratic movement remains defiant and resolute in the face of police intimidation and brutality.

According to international law, it is illegal to trade or dispose of resources in occupied Western Sahara without the consent of Western Sahara’s indigenous population who also have to benefit from any such dealings.

Saharawis are becoming increasingly impatient with the UN and many are willing to break the ceasefire between Western Sahara’s liberation front, Polisario, and Morocco, which has been in place since 1991, and return to war.

Father of South Africa’s Black Consciousness Movement Steve Biko would have been 65 on 18 December. Peter Kenworthy looks at the influence of his ideas on Swazi civil society today.

Given the long delay, the refusal to grant bail and the repeated irregularities, it is obvious that King Mswati’s regime is trying to postpone the case of the Swazi student leader for as long as possible.

Maxwell Dlamini, President of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), has been nominated for the 2013 Student Peace Prize, an award given every other year on behalf of Norwegian students to fellow students around the world who have ‘done important work to promote peace, democracy or human rights.’

Maxwell Dlamini, president of the Swaziland National Union of Students, remains in prison following his detention before the April uprising earlier this year. Dlamini is unable to stand trial thanks to a lawyer boycott against the country’s lack of judicial independence and rule of law, reports Peter Kenworthy for Africa Contact.

Despite a media blackout and a ban on visits to the occupied Western Sahara, there is evidence of Moroccan authorities torturing many of the Saharawis they have detained, reports Peter Kenworthy. The commonest methods include beatings, electric shocks and threats of rape.

Swaziland's authorities are acting with more restraint towards protestors in response to this week's demonstrations, writes Peter Kenworthy.

April protests in Swaziland galvanised the democratic movement and saw ordinary people turn out in the droves, writes Peter Kenworthy. But getting rid of a king turns out to be very much a process and not an event.

Next time you crack open a Coke to quench your thirst, spare a thought for the sugar cane workers in Swaziland. Peter Kenworthy investigates the operations of the Coca-Cola Company in the repressive monarchy.

Profiling the words of Senia Bachir Abderahman, a Saharawi activist from occupied Western Sahara, Peter Kenworthy writes of the need for genuine international support for Saharawi self-determination.