A lot of people in Swaziland believe that God chose
King Mswati III to be king.
And, because of this divine intervention, the king has special abilities and wisdom. For that reason, his word must be obeyed. Those who speak against the King, speak also against God.
Well that’s the theory. And it is very convenient for those close to the power of the King to allow this falsehood to gather ground in Swaziland. After all, some people might want to criticise a King, but who can dare criticise a God?
Of course, King Mswati wasn’t chosen by God. A political group plotting within the ruling elite of Swaziland chose him.
And, because of this divine intervention, the king has special abilities and wisdom. For that reason, his word must be obeyed. Those who speak against the King, speak also against God.
Well that’s the theory. And it is very convenient for those close to the power of the King to allow this falsehood to gather ground in Swaziland. After all, some people might want to criticise a King, but who can dare criticise a God?
Of course, King Mswati wasn’t chosen by God. A political group plotting within the ruling elite of Swaziland chose him.
Unlike in many societies that still have monarchs, in Swaziland the
eldest child (often only the son is eligible) of a deceased monarch doesn’t
simply become king once the reigning monarch dies. In Swaziland, the King is
said to be chosen by virtue of the rank and character of his mother in
accordance with Swazi law and custom.
But the part of Swazi law and custom relating to the selection of a
successor to a king is unknown to a majority of ordinary Swazi.
The story of how King Mswati, who was known as Prince Makhosetive as a
child, became the monarch goes like this, according to one biography.
‘King Sobhuza II had deftly managed to hold rivalling power factions
within the royal ruling alliance in check, and so his death in August 1982,
left a power vacuum.’
At this time Makhosetive was 15 years old and a schoolboy at Sherborne
in England.
‘In keeping with tradition, Makhosetive’s appointment by his father was
not publicly announced. Before his death the King had chosen one of his queens,
the childless Princess Dzeliwe, to preside over the monarchy as regent until
the prince turned 21 years of age.
‘It was in keeping with tradition that she be childless, so that she
would not involve herself in a factional struggle to advance the position of
her own son. Factional quarrels broke out into the open, however, in the
interregnum period, while the prince was [at school] in the United Kingdom.
‘Continuing disputes led members of the Liqoqo, a supreme traditional
advisory body, to force the Queen Regent to resign. In her stead the Liqoqo
appointed Queen Ntombi, Prince Makhosetive’s mother, who initially refused to
take up the position.
Further disputes between royal factions led to his coronation as King
Mswati III, at the age of 18, in April 1986, three years earlier than expected.
At the time, the King was the youngest monarch in the world.
‘Observers saw the early coronation as an attempt on the part of the
Liqoqo to legitimate the usurpation of Dzeliwe and consolidate their gains in
power. Prince Makhosetive, now King Mswati III, acted quickly however to
disband the Liqoqo and call for parliamentary elections.
In May 1986 Mswati dismissed the Liqoqo, the traditional advisory
council to regents, which had assumed greater powers than were customary. In
July 1986 he dismissed and charged with treason Prime Minister Prince Bhekimpi
and several government officials for their role in the ejection of Queen Regent
Dzeliwe, though he eventually pardoned those who were convicted.
Another biography
of King
Mswati says, ‘King Mswati’s first two years of rule were characterized by a
continuing struggle to gain control of the government and consolidate his rule.
‘Immediately following his coronation, Mswati disbanded the Liqoqo and
revised his cabinet appointments. In October 1986 Prime Minister Bhekimpi
Dlamini was dismissed and for the first time a nonroyal, Sotsha Dlamini, was
chosen for the post.
‘Prince Bhekimpi and 11 other important Swazi figures were arrested in
June 1987. [Prince] Mfanasibili, [Prince] Bhekimpi, and eight others were
convicted of high treason. Eight of those convicted, however, were eventually
pardoned.
In 2011, court papers relating to the treason trial that was held in secret come
to light after 23 years. The papers that had been deliberately removed from
Swaziland after the trial in 1987 were unearthed in Namibia.
They have not been released to the public and might contain details
about the plotting that surrounded King Mswati’s rise to power. The papers
might also remind the King’s subjects that he is really only where he is today
because of political intrigue.
See also
SCHOOLBOOK REVEALS ROYAL FAMILY RIFT
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