SWAZI KING ‘DESERVES A THRASHING’

Here’s more evidence that the Swaziland Royal Family sex scandal has turned the spotlight on King Mswati III, his personal life, and conditions in the kingdom he rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch.

The latest criticism comes from Zambia and the UKZambians magazine.

The magazine reports, ‘Cruel as this might sound, however, this incident has sparked much derision and an angry debate in Zambia about the moral dilemma of “fidelity” in the Swazi royal court. Most people talked to have little sympathy for King Mswati III. They believe he deserves a “thrashing” by way of sleeping with his wives - to teach him a lesson that polygamy is bad.’

The magazine talked to a selection of Zambians about the adulterous affair between the king’s 12^th wife, Nothando Dube (also known as Inkhosikati LaDube) and Swaziland Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Ndumiso Mamba.

This is part of what they had to say.

Kantala, a Lusaka florist said the Swazi king deserved to be put in his place, ‘Personally I have no sympathy for that guy. I think for someone to have twelve wives – that’s extremely selfish. How can you satisfy all of them sexually and emotionally? I suspect that this woman was not being properly looked after by the king because he has too much on his plate. She was starved and for a woman to go that far – to risk her reputation as a mother of three children and all that she has, it means there was something very wrong in their relationship. King Mswati did not take proper care of her.’

Tisa, a twenty-three year old hair dresser agrees, ‘Perhaps this woman felt neglected and decided to have an affair with someone whom she truly wanted. I think men should also start asking themselves this question: why can’t women in polygamous relationships also have boyfriends? It’s time that women also took charge of relationships. Always when we hear of adultery, it’s the men. But in this case it’s reassuring that a woman decided to cheat on her husband to punish him. We know that King Mswati takes any girl he chooses so am happy that some man slept with his wife. It’ll teach him a lesson.’

An HIV-AIDS advocate, who sought anonymity, said, ‘You know, what has happened is a warning to the royal family. Mswati could also catch HIV/AIDS because his sexual relationships with his many wives are not always faithful. In fact he himself is not monogamous. Knowing African traditional leaders and their appetite for sex, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the Swazi king had fifty wives including concubines. But that’s very risky because with every relationship the risk of contracting STDs becomes greater..

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