Kingdom of Swaziland


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Swaziland's King Mswati III was among the first day speakers at UN Millennium Development Goals September 20th 2010 in New York.

Picture - Reuters via Daylife
 
HM the King Mswati III has opened the first embassy of his kingdom to Abu Dhabi on October 18th, 2010. The King was accompanied by HM the Queen Mother. - WAM
 
King Mswati III to mark 25th anniversary of ascending the throne in 2011

The official budget for the royal family is a closely guarded secret. But opponents criticise the monarch for spending lavishly on a fleet of top-line BMWs and palaces for his 13 wives.
Despite the meltdown, the king is planning lavish celebrations for the 25th anniversary of his reign this year. The government has not disclosed how much the party will cost, but the official price tag for the king's 40th birthday party in 2008 was more than 12 million dollars. - AFP
 
Prince Sicalo is safely back home

Lieutenant Prince Sicalo, the first-born son of the King Mswati III, is now safely home. The Prince who jetted out of trouble-riddled Libya on Friday, arrived in Swaziland on Saturday night.
Prince Sicalo has been in Libya for a number of years undergoing ‘specialist’ military training with the Gaddafi's regime.- Full article

Prince Sicalo is the eldest son of Queen LaMatsebula (the ritual wife). A Swazi king's first two wives (ritual wives) are chosen for him by the national councillors. According to Swazi customs the children of the ritual wives are 'the children of gods' and can not inherit the throne.
Prince Sicalo (in the uniform) during the Swaziland's Arbor day.
 
Good, I'm making a research for the university for African Monarchies. This will help me.
 
HM the Queen Mother of Swaziland intends to establish a bank to alleviate poverty among the women. - Full article
 
Swaziland billed as next domino to fall - Times Live

Swazi youths will today take to the streets of the kingdom in an attempt to ignite an uprising that will topple absolute ruler King Mswati III and his government.
 
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Anger over Mswati's plans for royal wedding - Source

Next week, Mswati will be among VIP spectators at Westminster Abbey for a slightly more austere version hosted by the British royal family.
But his invitation has angered his countrymen, who accuse the UK of "legitimising" their autocratic monarch who rules over one of the poorest countries in the world.
 
AFP: Swaziland king cancels silver jubilee amid economic crisis
Africa's last monarch King Mswati III of Swaziland has cancelled plans for a lavish "silver jubilee" as his kingdom tries to claw its way out of a financial crisis, the government said Monday."The silver jubilee has been postponed indefinitely," Home Affairs Minister Chief Mgwagwa Gamedze said in a statement sent to AFP.
Mswati had been expected to host posh celebrations in September to mark the 25th anniversary of his rule, with 1.2 million euros ($1.7 million) set aside for the party.

More protests target Swazi absolute monarch | News by Country | Reuters
Activists marched to the U.S. and South African embassies in Swaziland on Wednesday demanding the freezing of overseas bank accounts of dignitaries, the latest twist in a long political crisis in Africa's last absolute monarchy.
 
In strong statement, Catholic bishops call for democratic reform in Swaziland - Brandon Sun
Catholic bishops are urging reforms in Swaziland, calling sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarchy a police state that is "tearing itself apart."
The statement issued Thursday after a Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference visit to Swaziland said the king should lift a state of emergency that has been in place for nearly four decades, reinstate "the full range of human rights" and open talks on democratization.
Swaziland's prime minister has said his country will resist outside pressure.
Swaziland's King Mswati III lives lavishly in a country of 1 million beset by high levels of poverty, unemployment and AIDS. Mswati is accused of repressing human rights and harassing and jailing pro-democracy activists.
 
Prince Mfanasibili: Royal family is divided

[FONT=times new roman,times]HRH the [/FONT][FONT=times new roman,times]Prince Mfanasibili[/FONT][FONT=times new roman,times] was asked by Swazi News to comment on a ‘Top Secret’ document that was allegedly found in the possession of South African Communist Party member Amos Mbedzi, alleging that some members of the royal family were behind the formation of PUDEMO.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman,times]The document states that the rationale for this was a disagreement on the succession to King Sobhuza II.[/FONT]
[FONT=times new roman,times]Recounting the events after the death of King Sobhuza II, Prince Mfanasibili said Labadzala had communicated to the Liqoqo that the next King would be Makhosetive and the Queen Mother would be the current Indlovukazi, Her Majesty Queen Ntombi. [...] [/FONT][FONT=times new roman,times]- Source
[/FONT]
 
It was predictable; in every absolute monarchy the King is "above the law".
 
S.Africa urged to put squeeze on Swazi king | Top News | Reuters
Leading dissidents from Swaziland urged South Africa on Thursday not to bail out the cash-strapped government of King Mswati III in order to keep the pressure on Africa's last absolute monarch.
[...]
His opponents fear that even a small amount of aid from his giant neighbour will take the heat off Mswati, who has at least a dozen wives, an estimated $200 million fortune and runs the landlocked nation of 1.4 million as a personal fiefdom.
 
Daily Nation:*- Africa*|Mswati must learn new lessons
At 18, Mswati ascended to the throne—or rather a kingdom was entrusted to a schoolboy’s care—in 1986. He maintained his father’s, King Sobhuza II, traditions from a bygone era.

Monarchs peddle privileges as real work. Mswati’s “working” includes collecting expensive cars, building million-dollar palaces, issuing decrees, grabbing reportedly the kingdom’s $446 million for royalty and retinue spending last year.

The apex of royal job performance is an annual ogling at bare-breasted virgins and occasional choice of a wife, now numbering 14, some wayward to quench matrimonial thirst. Somehow, the king has acquired assets reportedly worth $100 million.

Twice, in May and June demonstrators hit the streets. They reminded the king they weren’t all that happy. He replied by sending emissaries to empower the unhappy subjects with tear gas.

The Swazi people love their king. They can also love a queen. A potential candidate exists.

The Courier Pigeon newspaper in Australia last week reported that a Swazi student pursuing a Master’s in digital communications hits the books hard and saunters, co-ed style, at Sydney University.

She makes her bed and fries her eggs. Reportedly she doesn’t care much about some traditional Swazi antics. She’s Mswati’s oldest daughter.
 
BBC News - Swaziland: A kingdom in crisis
An absolute monarch who rules over 1.2 million people, his government is in financial ruin, running out of cash for salaries, health care and fuel.
The crisis has been caused by profligate spending - on the royal family of 13 wives, as well as unbudgeted wage increases - and a sharp decline in income because of the global economic crisis and new trade rules in the region, analysts say.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13963463
 
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News about the adulterous Swazi ex-Queen.

Royal wife begs rescue from abuse - Investigations - Mail & Guardian Online
Nothando Dube, who claims South African citizenship through her father, was restricted to her royal residence in July last year after a South African newspaper alleged that she had been caught in bed with former justice minister Ndumiso Mamba at Royal Villas Hotel outside Mbabane.
She told the Mail & Guardian that she has not seen or spoken to the king since and that none of the members of the royal family had confronted her about the allegations, which she denies.
Inkhosikati LaDube said the royal security guards told her she was not allowed to see or interact with her family and friends.
She claims she has endured abusive treatment at the hands of security guards.
 
Wife of King Sobhuza II dies July 16th, 2011, aged 79

One of 70 wives of late King Sobhuza II of Swaziland HRH the Inkhosikati Lomakholwa LaMgunundvu died of diabetes on July 16th, 2011.
The Swazi Observer
She was born in January 1932 at Mkhuzweni in the Hhohho region.
She was married by the late King Sobhuza in the late 40s.
In 1953, she accompanied King Sobhuza to England for the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
She is survived by five children (Princess Elizabeth, Prince Guduza, Prince Hlangusemphi, Princess Lindiwe, Prince Gcina who is the last born child of the late king Sobhuza), 31 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
She was diagnosed with sugar diabetes in the late 90s and has been battling with the disease for so long.
She passed away on July 16, 2011

http://www.times.co.sz/News/30786.html
 
REFILE-UPDATE 1-S.Africa loan to Swazi King raises policy questions | News by Country | Reuters

Unions: 'Hyena' king laughing all the way to the bank - News - Mail & Guardian Online
"This decision by the South African government to give King Mswati's regime a financial bail-out is a direct assault on our solidarity efforts to free and liberate the people of Swaziland from this hyena's tyranny," Numsa spokesperson Castro Ngobese said on Thursday.
"This bail-out or loan has made our government 'hug and kiss the most hated hyena'," he said, quoting from a 1984 speech delivered by African National Congress stalwart Oliver Tambo.
 
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