A peaceful protest march organized by the Public Sector Union (PSU), scheduled for Monday, 20 April 2026, was dispersed by heavily armed police officers in Mbabane. Police also blocked buses from the country’s four regions that were transporting PSU members, effectively derailing the planned march.
Earlier that morning (20 April), PSU leaders had received an invitation to meet privately with the Prime Minister. However, the leadership chose to proceed with delivering their petition first, an effort that ultimately did not succeed. The protest march, which had been granted a permit by the Mbabane Municipal Council in accordance with the law, was therefore unable to proceed.
Instead, the PSU convened an emergency meeting later that day at the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) Centre in Manzini. During this meeting, it was resolved that the petition would be delivered on Wednesday, 22 April 2026. At attempted petition delivery on Wednesday, police reportedly abducted union leaders: Lot Vilakati, Sipho Mhlanga, Maxwell Myelin, and Chief Marshal Lubalo Khumalo.