Jan Sithole

Jan Jabulani Sithole

During his time in the SFTU, Sithole helped to draft the organizations 27 key demands alongside first Vice Secretary General Jabulani Nxumalo, including the passing of a Swazi constitution, elderly grants, and free primary education. He was also arrested on 30 January 1997 while organizing the 1997 Swaziland general strike, along with SFTU President Richard Nxumalo, Vice President and later Speaker of the House of Assembly Themba Msibi, and Jabulani Nxumalo. They were charged with threatening bus company owners to cease operating, but were released after a magistrate found there was no basis to the charges.

Sithole stated that one of his first goals was to bring a bill of rights to parliament. He noted that while the constitution of Eswatini guaranteed the freedoms of association, press and expression, these freedoms had yet to be enshrined in law. His associates noted that he supported the monarchy. He believed that the monarchy was a unifying force in the nation, and that it had a positive influence on the economy. Sithole believed that the monarch should "reign above politics."

During his time in the SFTU, Sithole sought true democracy, jobs, equality, freedom of speech and respect for human rights in Eswatini. He believed that Eswatini needed a bill of rights to protect critics of the monarchy from being silenced.

Mduduzi Gina, who was elected as Secretary General of the SFTU after Sithole stepped down in 2009, described Sithole as an internationalist.