Statement from Swaziland Vigil
Swazis in London protest at visit by playboy king Mswati
III
Exiled Swazis living in the UK are to protest outside the
Savoy Hotel in London on Wednesday 16th May when their king Mswati III is due to
arrive to attend a diamond jubilee banquet for the world’s monarchs hosted by
the Queen at Windsor Castle on Friday 18th May.
The protest is organised by the Swaziland Vigil which
stages regular demonstrations outside the Swaziland High Commission in London
in protest at the king’s autocratic rule. He is Africa ’s last absolute monarch
and has, at the last count, 13 wives – although there are reports that some of
them have fled. Forty-four year old Mswati III, educated at Sherborne public
school in Dorset , is said by Forbes magazine to have a fortune of more than
$100 million while his people live in poverty.
The co-ordinator of the Swazi Vigil Thobile Gwebu said
people in Swaziland had been reduced to eating cow dung so that they could fill
their bellies as required for the AIDs medicines provided by NGOs. She said the
king had recently taken delivery of a DC-9 twin-engine aircraft claiming it was
a gift from ‘anonymous sponsors’.
Ms Gwebu said she understood the king was travelling with
the entourage of 30, staying at the Savoy where room prices start at £400 a
night.
She said Swazis in the UK didn’t want to spoil the
Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and had written to her explaining that, as Queen
of the Commonwealth, perhaps she could have a word with Mswati so that they
could return home to a country where human rights were respected. For text of
the letter see: http://www.zimvigil.co.uk/vigil-news/campaign-news/397-swaziland-vigil-letter-to-the-queen.
The Swaziland Vigil is also planning to picket the
Swaziland High Commission on Saturday 19th May when king Mswati is due to hold
a dinner.
Savoy Protest
Date:
Wednesday 16th May from 12 noon – 3 pm
Venue:
Savoy Hotel, Strand, London WC2R 0EU
Swazi High Commission Protest
Date:
Saturday 19th May from 6.30 pm
Venue:
Swazi High Commission, 20 Buckingham Gate, London SW1E 6LB
Contact:
Fungayi Mabhunu 07746 552 597
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