There was a very strange – and possibly quite dangerous – reader’s letter published in the Times of Swaziland on Monday (26 May 2008).
The anonymous writer gave a list of reasons why King Mswati III is reviled outside Swaziland.
To criticise the king in this way is very ‘un-Swazi’ and is something the media in Swaziland avoid doing. It is also dangerous for people to voice opinions against the king in everyday life as they and their families can easily be victimised by local chiefs. (This fact may explain why the letter was published unsigned).
The letter writer, who says he (she?) is a Swazi living in South Africa, wrote that people make ‘horrible comments’ about Swaziland.
‘Some say there are no roads, no proper houses, everybody lives in huts in the country except the King. They get all this from the net, saying the king drives in a E4 million (about 570,000 US Dollars) car and has a fleet of private jets and palaces, wives and children who live the most fabulous life and has a bank account worth billions of dollars.
‘They reprimand the king and say he is the reason why the country has the highest HIV and AIDS rate in the world.
‘They also blame the king for all the wrong things in the country they say he is the reason why the country’s economy is dropping drastically.’
The letter writer goes on to suggest that the king should subject himself to a press conference so that he can ‘exonerate himself from all the crimes that are placed upon him’.
The comments about the king being blamed for Swaziland’s economic ills will ring alarm bells with readers of this blog. In March 2007, the Times Sunday published a report sourced from Norway that said the king was being blamed by the International Monetary Fund for the poor economy in Swaziland. Once the report hit the streets of Swaziland, the king summoned the Times’ publisher and told him that unless he made an abject apology, the king would close down all the newspapers in the Times group. The apology was forthcoming.
King Mswati is presently on a trip to the Philippines, so the Times editor is safe for now – but don’t hold your breath.
See also
CLOSURE THREAT AT ‘TIMES’
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