Uneswa Department of Statistics & Demography

We’re still in awe!🙌🏾

The Department of Statistics & Demography’s AI Engineers Shine Brighter Than Ever at IndabaX Eswatini 2025

AI Engineers Eswatini have once again lit up the stage at IndabaX 2025. The Department of Statistics and Demography’s alumni network of coders and AI enthusiasts continues to prove itself as a powerhouse of talent and innovation.

The results of the IndabaX Eswatini event held last September were released today, and our members have once again risen to the top. The hackathon, which challenged participants to forecast inflation, was won by Philile Mthethwa, a former student currently pursuing an MSc in Data Science in Kenya. In her interview, Mthethwa inspired us with the words: “move in the direction of value, failure is always sweeter than the cost of not trying.”

The momentum didn’t stop there. The ever-popular Makepeace Zulu added yet another accolade to his growing list by securing 2nd place in the 2025 IndabaX AI Poster Presentation. This follows his impressive win at the Africa IndabaX AI Research Paper Awards in Rwanda. Right behind him was recent graduate Banele Mkhonta, who secured the next position in the same category, showing that the next wave of talent is coming in strong.

All these achievements stand on a foundation laid years ago, when the Department of Statistics and Demography boldly embraced AI as a strategic path forward. This legacy includes trailblazers like Sifiso Ngwenya, the 2023 IndabaX AI Poster Presenter Champion and 2024 Africa IndabaX Poster Presenter Award Winner in Senegal, as well as Lisanda Mlangeni, who claimed the 2024 IndabaX Poster Presenter Award.

From past champions to today’s rising stars, the spirit of excellence continues to grow. AI Engineers Eswatini are not slowing down.

ERS: The Gift That Just Keeps Giving

Huge appreciation to the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) for recruiting eight top Data Science/Data Analyst graduates from the UNESWA Department of Statistics and Demography! 👏

Our graduates are joining dynamic ERS teams, where they will be mentored by many of our esteemed alumni. This established pathway signals ERS's serious commitment to their digital transformation, recognizing that conventional methods are not enough. Our talent is perfectly positioned to help drive this urgent transition to a data-driven AI Ecosystem.

Today, our alumni spans from top managers, senior officers, officers and temporary analysts. We are thankful for this enduring partnership and look forward to further collaboration to strengthen ERS's capacity for domestic resource mobilization and ensure Eswatini's economic stability. Let's build this future together!

Mind, Data, Truth, and AI: Navigating Disruptive Innovations’ Diffusion and Persistence Amidst Laggard Leadership in Organizations

This past Thursday, the Department of Research, Strategy and Statistics at the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) hosted a Data Indaba under the theme “Harnessing Data and AI for Effective Revenue Administration.”

During the event, our experienced lecturer, Mr. Sidumo Masango delivered a motivational lecture titled “Mind, Data, Truth, and AI: Navigating Disruptive Innovations’ Diffusion and Persistence Amidst Laggard Leadership in Organizations.” The session explored how organizations can adapt, innovate, and sustain transformative change in the era of artificial intelligence and data-driven decision-making.

The Department of Statistics and Demography is well-represented at ERS, as about 10 staff members from the ERS’s Research, Strategy, and Statistics Department are our alumni, while several others serve across different divisions of the ERS.

The Department continues to celebrate the growing impact of its graduates and the expanding collaboration with national institutions driving data-led transformation in Eswatini. 🚀

The Statistics and Demography Society in collaboration with the Uneswa Department of Statistics & Demography hosted a successful Student Career and AI Induction event. This event was sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and graced by HR Business Partners, Central Statistical Office (CSO), Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA, Eswatini Revenue Services(ERS), First National Bank.

🎉 Congratulations Dr. Maswati Simelane!

We are delighted to celebrate Dr. Maswati Simelane, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Statistics and Demography and Dean of the Faculty of Social Science, who has been honoured as one of the founding members of the Eswatini Young Academy of Sciences (EYAS).

Recognised by the Ministry of ICT for his unwavering commitment to advancing research and providing science-based solutions for national development and community well-being, Dr. Simelane stands among the trailblazing minds driving a new era of science and innovation in Eswatini.

🌍 The launch of EYAS, hosted at the George Hotel by the Department of Research, Science, Technology & Innovation (RSTI), unveiled its constitution and founding members. EYAS brings together exceptional young researchers, innovators, and STEM professionals with a shared mission:
• to unite young scientists in tackling pressing national and international challenges,
• to promote excellence in science, technology, and innovation, and
• to foster collaboration and interdisciplinary approaches for sustainable progress.

👏 Congratulations once again to Dr. Simelane and all EYAS founding members for shaping the future of science and innovation in Eswatini!

📊✨ Department of Statistics and Demography at IndabaX – Ezulwini Edition ✨📊

The Department had a full and inspiring day at Ezulwini, where our Patron, Mr. Sidumo Masango, and HoD, Mr. Luyandza Dlamini, were joined by the Statistics and Demography Society Executive Committee, current students, newly recruited ERS temporary analysts, and our graduating students who proudly presented their research posters at IndabaX hosted at the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) Headquarters.

Our students showcased cutting-edge work that highlighted the growing role of Artificial Intelligence and advanced statistical methods in solving real-world challenges:
• Bathobile Ngubeni – An Empirical Evaluation of Macro Level Determinants Influencing Non-Performing Loans: Random Forest, Recurrent Neural Networks and Attention LSTM Transformer Model
• Makepeace Zulu – Eswatini AgriForecast Hub: AI-Driven Agricultural Forecasting for Strategic Decision-Making
• Banele Mkhonta – Uncovering Inflation Drivers and Volatility Sources in Eswatini Using Attention-Based Machine and Deep Learning: A Hybrid Approach for Interpretable Macroeconomic Analysis
• Ndumiso Shongwe – Credit Risk Assessment Models in Personal Lending: A Comparative Analysis of Logistic Regression, SVM, MLP and TabTransformer with Explainable AI

We were also delighted to see our alumna, Sharon Simelane, contributing as a panelist representing FRSA — a true reflection of the department’s growing footprint in industry and policy spaces.

In addition, our AI Engineers subtly but effectively showcased the real applications of Artificial Intelligence within domain-specific contexts.

Finally, it was a pleasure reconnecting with IndabaX Champions 2024 and 2025, Sifiso Ngwenya and Makepeace Zulu, who continue to fly the UNESWA Statistics and Demography flag high.

A day of knowledge-sharing, innovation, and inspiration — Ezulwini will surely remember this IndabaX! 🌍📈

On this Saturday’s Observer, read more on:
- Makepeace’s victory 🥇
- His motivation and support 🧑‍🧒
- The AI Engineers initiative 💻
- Uneswa Department of Statistics & Demography’s fruitful partnerships🤝🏾, embracing AI 🤖🦾and future endeavors 🗓️

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17HXnPpa4C9WjaVNiaPqRCBe4rKqWT5g2/view?usp=drivesdk

🎉Congratulations, Luyandza Mamba-
Dlamini!🎉

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Mamba-Dlamini as the new Head of the Department of Statistics and Demography at the University of Eswatini.

Her journey is truly inspiring — from being one of our own students, excelling with both the Dean's Prize and the NBC Prize, to completing her BA in Social Sciences and a Master's in Mathematics (Data Science).

Since joining the university in 2020 as a Teaching Assistant, she has continued to distinguish herself, later serving as a Lecturer and now stepping into this new leadership role.
We celebrate this well-deserved achievement and look forward to the impact she will make in shaping the future of the department.

🇸🇿 Eswatini does it again! 🎉

At IndabaX Senegal 2024, Sifiso Ngwenya put Eswatini on the map by winning Best Poster Presentation. 🏆

Now, in 2025, Makepeace Zulu, also from the Department of Statistics and Demography, University of Eswatini, has carried that momentum forward in style!

He presented two posters, each linked to working apps:
📱 App 1: Disease diagnosis → earned an educational prize worth $500 💵
📱App 2: Disease detection and forecasting → awarded a special souvenir prize 🎁

👏 Congratulations, Makepeace! Your innovation shows how Eswatini’s young researchers continue to shine on the continental stage. 🌍✨

Today, our very own Makepeace Zulu took the stage with his poster presentation at the IndabaX Deep Learning Conference! 🎉

After introducing his paper “An AI Tomato Leaf Doctor Using MobileNetV2 and Streamlit”, he brought his research to life through an engaging poster session — sparking conversations, sharing ideas, and connecting with fellow innovators from across Africa. 🌍✨

From tomatoes 🍅 to tech 👨🏾‍💻, Makepeace is showing us how AI can make a real impact where it matters most.

📍 Kigali, Rwanda. Our student, Makepeace Zulu, at the prestigious IndabaX Deep Learning Conference.

🍅 Makepeace will be presenting his paper An AI Tomato Leaf Doctor Using MobileNetV2 and Streamlit: A Lightweight Deep Learning Tool for Farmers. He has taken things a step further and developed an app of the same! 👨🏾‍💻