Swazi King Mswati III has decreed that nobody is allowed to wear mourning gowns until the 40/40 celebrations to mark his 40th birthday and also the 40th anniversary of Swaziland’s independence from Great Britain next month are over.
Jim Gama, the ‘traditional’ prime minister of Swaziland, made this announcement last week. Gama is unelected to the post and should not be confused with Swaziland’s ‘official’ prime minister Themba Dlamini who is also unelected to his post.
According to the Swazi Observer (7 August 2008) ‘Gama said by removing the gowns, people will be showing respect to the Swazi nation as it will be marking the 40/40 double celebrations.’
With impeccable logic, Gama is quoted saying ‘removing the gowns did not mean that widows were not in mourning’. However he announced, ‘During these celebrations no one should be seen wearing any mourning gowns.’
The 40/40 celebrations are hugely controversial in Swaziland. It is estimated that they will cost upwards of E25 million (about 3.5 million US dollars). The independent media in Swaziland have criticised their cost at a time when 70 percent of Swaziland’s population live in abject poverty, earning less than one US dollar a day.
Only on Wednesday (6 August 2008) I wrote that a United Nations Development Programme report reckoned nearly four out of 10 people in Swaziland face starvation.
An invitation to Zimbabwean despot Robert Mugabe to attend the 40/40 celebrations has also caused outrage among progressive circles in Swaziland.
Now, the autonomous monarch King Mswati III has ruled that no one can wear mourning gowns until his celebration is over. This is to show respect to the nation.
I’ve got a better idea. Everyone in Swaziland who hates the idea of the 40/40 celebrations should wear mourning gown until they are over. This way we can mourn the lack of democracy in Swaziland and draw attention to fact that these celebrations have no respect for the ordinary people in the kingdom.
See also
40/40 CELEBRATION
FOUR IN TEN SWAZIS FACE STARVATION
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