The riot police appeared out of nowhere, charging furiously toward the young protesters trying to oust King Mswati III, who has ruled over the nation of Eswatini for 38 years.
The pop of gunfire ricocheted through the streets, and the demonstrators started running for their lives.
Manqoba Motsa, a college student, and his fellow Communists quickly slipped into disguise, pulling plain T-shirts over their red hammer-and-sickle regalia.
They found him splayed on a bed in the emergency room, a bloody bandage around his torso, a tube in his arm.
“We can’t stop fighting,” the wounded protester, Mhlonishwa Mtsetfwa, told the dozen red-clad Communist Party members surrounding his hospital bed.
Persons:
King Mswati III, Manqoba, Mhlonishwa Mtsetfwa
Organizations:
Communists, Communist Party
Locations:
Eswatini