The Communist Party of Swaziland is continuing to organize actions protesting the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country. Swaziland is the last remaining monarchy in Africa, and the people of the country have been facing brutal repression for resisting the king’s rule.

Speaking to Peoples Dispatch from his hideout, the 21-year-old narrated how he escaped from the police and made it to safety with the help of his comrades, following hours of torture, after being shot by the King’s police while leading a pro-democracy protest

In Swaziland, only individuals approved by the local chiefs of King Mswati III can contest elections, and the parliament cannot hold the monarchy accountable. Pro-democracy activists have been calling for a boycott of the elections which are scheduled for August

The police attempted to arrest CPS member Bongi Nkambule, who was abducted and tortured by the police in March. When they failed to capture him, they took his wife into custody and beat her up in the police station. There has been an upsurge of resistance in Swaziland recently

In spite of the militarized crackdown, people across urban and rural Swaziland are taking to the streets against Africa’s last absolute monarch. The Communist Party calls for sustained uprising on a country-wide scale in order to “exhaust the army and police.”