{"id":83495,"date":"2025-12-21T06:47:45","date_gmt":"2025-12-21T06:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg"},"modified":"2025-12-21T06:56:45","modified_gmt":"2025-12-21T06:56:45","slug":"snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg","title":{"rendered":"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. <\/strong><\/span>The defamation lawsuit filed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General Mduduzi Gina against Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General Lot Vilakati for E500,000 stems from a controversial claim Vilakati made earlier this year that Gina had \u201cset the police\u201d on public-sector workers during protest meeting against the conversion of the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF).<\/b><\/p>\n

According to multiple sources who attended the meeting and a video leaked to Swazi Bridge Vilakati made the allegation during a heated labour gathering in early 2025, accusing TUCOSWA\u2019s leadership of siding with government authorities to suppress workers opposed to the state-backed PSPF conversion.<\/p>\n

His remarks were immediately challenged by TUCOSWA President Bheki Mamba, who publicly corrected him, saying the claim was \u201cnot true\u201d and did not reflect either the federation\u2019s stance or Gina\u2019s actions. Despite this correction, Vilakati reportedly stood by his statement a decision that has now landed him in court.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit comes amid growing controversy around Gina\u2019s perceived closeness to the state. He has drawn criticism from within the labour movement for appearing at the Eswatini National Provident Fund\u2019s 50-year jubilee celebration, where Minister of Labour Phila Buthelezi publicly praised him for \u201chelping Eswatini get out of the ILO\u2019s special paragraph,\u201d a measure that had placed the country under scrutiny for workers\u2019 rights violations.<\/p>\n

SNAT SG Lot Vilakati<\/p>\n

Gina attended the event in his capacity as Chairperson of the National Provident Fund Board, where he represents workers\u2019 interests. However, his later appointment to the Eswatini Electricity Company board by Prince Lonkhokhela, now Minister of Natural Resources and formerly Gina\u2019s colleague during his tenure at the Fund, has been used by his detractors that he has been \u201ccaptured\u201d by the state.<\/p>\n

Union insiders say these perceptions have been weaponised by Gina\u2019s critics to rally unions against him and portray TUCOSWA as compromised. Others claim the posture taken by some union leaders is an escalation of long simmering tensions partly fueled by party loyalties and factional TUCOSWA battles Sources close to Vilakati say he has flatly refused to apologise, insisting that his comments were made \u201cin a political context\u201d and on behalf of SNAT, not as a personal attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe believes the federation has been captured first by one political party, and now by the state,\u201d one union source said. SNAT insiders confirm that the lawsuit has further strained relations between the teachers\u2019 union and the federation, already divided over key national labour issues from the PSPF-ENPF conversion to the federation\u2019s perceived alignment with government positions.<\/p>\n

SNAT President Mbongwa Dlamini said the teachers\u2019 union was taken aback by the Labour Minister\u2019s public praise of Gina, arguing that such international labour matters are rarely discussed within TUCOSWA\u2019s leadership. \u201cAs someone who sits on the TUCOSWA leadership, I am none the wiser on what issues are taken to the ILO and which are not,\u201d Dlamini told Swazi Bridge.<\/p>\n

TUCOSWA SG Mduduzi Gina<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why we took issue with the reports that Gina helped take the country out of the special paragraph. These are matters that should be discussed collectively not through press statements.\u201d He described the lawsuit against Vilakati as an attempt to \u201cindividualise political speech\u201d made in the context of legitimate union debate.<\/p>\n

\u201cComrade Lot was corrected in the same meeting; that should have been the end of it or for Gina to lodge and we correct in the next meeting of the same structure,\u201d Dlamini said. He dismissed calls for the formation of a new federation, saying such a move would be premature and require broad consensus.<\/p>\n

Instead, he welcomed calls for mediation to ease tensions between public-sector unions and the federation. The fallout underscores deepening disunity within Eswatini\u2019s trade-union movement long fractured by ideological rivalries and allegations of political interference.<\/p>\n

Formed from the merger of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU), Swaziland Federation of Labour (SFL), and SNAT, TUCOSWA was once envisioned as a united voice for workers. But over the years, critics have accused the federation of centralised decision-making, limited transparency, and a growing proximity to government interests.<\/p>\n

Labour analysts warn that the lawsuit \u2014 and the broader rift it exposes \u2014 could weaken the workers\u2019 front at a time when the state is driving through controversial economic and pension reforms. \u201cThis lawsuit is more than a personal dispute,\u201d one veteran unionist told Swazi Bridge.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a symptom of how fragile the labour movement has become and how political power, fear, and factionalism are eroding the very solidarity that unions are built on.\u201d Gina has promised to respond to the lawsuit in due time.<\/p>\n

swazibridge<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Eswatini<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Eswatini. The defamation lawsuit filed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General Mduduzi Gina against Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Secretary General Lot Vilakati for E500,000 stems from a controversial claim Vilakati made earlier this year that Gina had \u201cset the police\u201d on public-sector workers during protest meeting against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":83494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[249],"class_list":["post-83495","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","tag-eswatini"],"yoast_head":"\nSnat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG - Eswatini<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The defamation lawsuit filed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General Mduduzi Gina agains ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The defamation lawsuit filed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General Mduduzi Gina agains ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Eswatini\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-21T06:47:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-21T06:56:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-21T06:47:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-21T06:56:45+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg\"},\"wordCount\":792,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Eswatini\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg\",\"name\":\"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG - Eswatini\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-21T06:47:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-21T06:56:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"The defamation lawsuit filed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General Mduduzi Gina agains ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/\",\"name\":\"Eswatini\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG - Eswatini","description":"The defamation lawsuit filed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General Mduduzi Gina agains ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG","og_description":"The defamation lawsuit filed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General Mduduzi Gina agains ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg","og_site_name":"Eswatini","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2025-12-21T06:47:45+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-21T06:56:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG","datePublished":"2025-12-21T06:47:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-21T06:56:45+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg"},"wordCount":792,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg","keywords":["Eswatini"],"articleSection":["all news","files"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg","name":"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG - Eswatini","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg","datePublished":"2025-12-21T06:47:45+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-21T06:56:45+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"The defamation lawsuit filed by the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA) Secretary General Mduduzi Gina agains ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/sites\/33\/2025\/12\/sm_1766287538.437447.jpg","width":1600,"height":900,"caption":"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/all-news\/snat-sg-sued-for-lying-about-tucoswa-sg#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Snat SG Sued for Lying about Tucoswa SG"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/","name":"Eswatini","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83495"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83495\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83495"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/eswatini\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}