Last week I implored the almighty God to show up at the State House and help Botswana’s President Ian Khama Seretse Khama. This week I write from Swaziland and would like to ask God to make some changes to his itinerary and, as a matter of urgency, land at Ludzidzini (Swazi Royal Kraal) before proceeding to Botswana. King Mswati III needs God’s intervention more than President Khama does.
The King is in ‘dung‘. For the King, it has hit the fan. It’s a case of ‘no money, more problems’.
Here is a King who leads a lavish life of pomp and glamour. A man who is at liberty to choose as many wives as his libido can please. In Swaziland, and for the Swazis, it is King Mswati first and Jesus Christ thereafter. King Mswati wields so much power that defying his orders is tantamount to breaking God’s ten commandments. Infact I’m being economical with the truth here because we always get away with breaking the Bible’s commandments whereas chances of escaping the punitive measures that come with defying the King are next to nil.
Things do not look so rosy and cosy for the King anymore. The people of Swaziland are yawning from their deep slumber. The people here are slowly getting sober from their cultural ‘drunkenness’ where they were brainwashed to believe the King is God‘s gift to this little Kingdom of Swaziland.
They now realise King Mswati is all flesh and blood like all of them. Speaking to most of the Swazis you get a feeling they are fed up with the way the King runs their country. Finally they realise they have all along been playing stupidly submissive to the King. The country’s wealth has been piled on the King to the detriment of the country’s economy. The country is in financial turmoil. Swaziland is so broke it breaks hearts. The King has ‘messed up’ the country I don’t think even the recent financial bailout from South African will be enough to ‘toilet paper’ the mess.
The University of Swaziland (UNISWA) has been closed indefinitely as there is no money to pay student allowances. The closure of the university will without doubt deal a terrible blow to the education system here. The authorities do not even have answers to the crisis. The local currency notes, with the King’s portrait, bears the words ‘God is our source’ and if indeed God is their source then the King is the source of their sorrows. I say this because even as the country goes through a difficult financial terrain, there is no sign the King is ready to go easy on his extravagant life style. For him it is business as usual even though its worth noting the King appears too embarrassed to pick any more wives. But don’t be fooled because the King has the choice to have ‘official’ concubines without marrying them.
However, it is clear the King is not having it easy. As I have already mentioned, the honeymoon is coming to an end. There are more pressure groups mushrooming in the country and they are vocal about their disdain for the monarchy rule. The people of Swaziland are getting exposed to democratic indulgences enjoyed by other nations and they seem green with envy. Swazis now seem so determined than ever to have their country and have control of it. They want their country to be run by people who qualify for leadership through tried and tested credentials and not birthright as is the case now.
As an activist for democracy, it gives me pleasure to realise more Swazis are starting to realise democratic rule is more ‘ayoba’ than the monarchy rule which, to me, really is just a mafia way of looting the nation with their eyes wide open yet not being able to ‘see’ the looting. A country run through monarchy is amenable to anarchy. The prevalence of nepotism in Swaziland has reached dizzy heights, all thanks to the monarchy. In Swaziland, your success is determined by your connections to the Royal family. Everyone in Swaziland wants to be associated with the Dlaminis. How you suck up to the royal family determines how big your piece will be in the country’s economic ‘cake’.
It is heartbreaking to learn that the financial ‘tsunami’ that recently ravaged the country has affected the supply of ARV’s to people living with HIV/AIDS. We know the severe implications of abrupt discontinuation of ARV’s for people who have already enrolled. I shed a tear for the Swazis.
In Botswana the government literally goes on bended knees to have people come forth and get ARV’s and to think here in Swaziland government has to turn away from those who want ARV’s is heart-wrecking.
But trust me, it’s only a matter of time and the King will have to give back to the Swazis what belongs to them; their land. It is only a matter of time and the Swazis will enjoy what is due to them, democracy. From my observation, soon and very soon Swaziland will be a country for the people and it will be run by the people. The days of Swaziland for the King by the King are numbered. More and more Swazis are getting educated and are getting exposed to the outside world. We visit their country and brag about the democratic rule in our country. We make them appear less human before the King. We remind them that no one has the birthright to live in opulence at the expense of fellow citizens. We remind them that they should not worship King Mswati. The best they can do for their King is respect and not worship him. Even then, we remind them that the respect must be earned and not forced. Contrary to popular suspicions, some of us do not travel to Swaziland every year to ogle the semi naked girls that parade before the King. No, we have our women who possess not only the breasts but are loaded with brains and would not parade naked before a man who derives joy in watching semi naked girls every year: A man who derives joy in watching his daughters display their ‘tits” and ‘thighs’ in front of him and thousand spectators. Back home in Botswana, it has become known that I never miss the Swazi reed dance and I want to state here that I attend the ceremony not because I enjoy the ‘fleshy’ display of nubile girls. I come here to discourage Swazi ladies from taking part in the reed dance because I have failed to grasp the reasons behind the occasion save for the silly and tired excuse of ‘it’s our culture blah blah”. I have to stop here and get back to Ludzidzini where the reed dance is still ongoing. The King’s eyes will be on the teenagers as they parade before him. Well I am no paedophile and have no time to watch naked kids same age as my nieces. Instead, my eyes will be glued on the King’s wives. I hear lately some of them are trying to run away from their matrimonial palaces where they are effectively under house arrest.
