A crisis simmers in Southern Africa as the landlocked country formerly known as Swaziland cracks down on pro-democracy demonstrations.

One nation is making its Olympics debut in Tokyo. Formerly known as Swaziland, the Kingdom of eSwatini - Africa’s last absolute monarchy - will be represented when four of its athletes go for the gold in track and field, boxing, and swimming.

While these citizens compete in Japan, many of their family, friends, and fans back home in Southern Africa are engaged in an entirely different struggle - one with far-reaching, and deadly, consequences.

For the past two months, Eswatini has been gripped by unrest as pro-democracy protestors have taken to the streets to call for political reform and express dissatisfaction with the rule of King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch.

These protests were triggered following the death of 25-year-old law student Thabani Nkomonye, who was allegedly killed by the Eswatini police. Since then, at least 40 additional people have died and more than 150 protesters have been hospitalised with injuries resulting from police shootings, beatings, and excessive use of force.

In response to the protests, the eSwatini Communications Commission suspended access to social media and online platforms until further notice. This action prevented citizens from documenting the police violence that was taking place. The government clampdown has also limited access to journalists covering the protests.

From Swaziland to Eswatini

For much of the 20th century, this small, landlocked country was under British control, finally gaining its independence in a nonviolent transfer of power in 1968.

In 2018, to mark the nation’s first half century and to dispose of the country’s colonial past, its king announced that the land formerly known as Swaziland would henceforth be known as the Kingdom of Eswatini.

“African countries, on getting independence, reverted to their ancient names,” King Mswati III told the crowd during the announcement. He was pointing to a return to traditional or historical names from “before they were colonized.”

The king has now ruled the nation, which shares borders with South Africa and Mozambique, for 35 years. Political parties are banned and nearly two-thirds of the country’s 1.2 million people live below the poverty line, according to the World Bank.

As Stephen Leahy previously reported for Nat Geo, King Mswati III had long complained that people outside of Africa confused his country with Switzerland. But while Eswatini, “the land of the Swazis,” does have some mountains it’s much smaller; in fact, it’s smaller than New Jersey. Unlike Switzerland’s direct democracy, King Mswati inherited the throne in 1986 from his father, Sobhuza II, who had reigned for 82 years.

In recent years, Eswatini has stirred controversy over its efforts to engage in the rhino horn trade. At the 2019 Conference of Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), Eswatini proposed to reopen legal international trade in white rhino horns. The kingdom can already trade limited amounts of live southern white rhinos, as well as hunting trophies, but its proposal to enter international commercial trade in rhino horn, which is currently forbidden, was soundly rejected.

As reported by NPR, Eswatini continues to struggle with COVID-19, which has caused nearly 700 deaths, and the government is struggling to pay teachers, a problem that led to protests earlier this year. As the news outlet notes, “the king and his 15 wives continue to live an opulent life.”

The reigning royal is learning that changing the name of an impoverished nation proves not to be a panacea for its people. Even as its new name aims to reclaim ancestry in an effort to stir national pride, many of the country’s citizens are more focused on the future as they engage in protests against the continent’s last absolute monarch.

“We are the youth of Swaziland and we are so much depressed by the government,” a young protester told Al Jazeera in June. “Our government is not being fair; it is just a one man’s land.”

The current state of civil unrest