Barnabas Dlamini, the Swaziland Prime Minister, has
been derided across social media after it was revealed he had been passing
himself off as a ‘doctor’ for more than five years when he had no such
qualification.
Dlamini had been given an ‘honorary’ doctorate from
the University of Swaziland, an institution that does not run doctorate
programmes, and where most of its students study for diplomas that are below
bachelor degrees.
This is not the only time the bogus doctor allowed
his vanity to get the better of him. In 2010 he accepted an award for being a
global humanitarian from an organisation created by a well-known con-man, Rudy
King.
Even though the
con was exposed and reported in international media and Dlaimin had been informed
he was being tricked, he still travelled to the Bahamas at the Swazi taxpayers’
expense to receive his medal. On his return to Swaziland, he continued to deny
that he had been conned.
It started in September 2010, when the Swazi Government
issued a statement to say
Dlamini was to be honoured by the World Citizen Awards (WCA).
It said the medal was being given to the Prime Minister, ‘as a person who has
accomplished and made numerous contributions to mankind’. He was also described
as a ‘highly respected global figure, whose role in history has been
significant.’
WCA
described itself as a ‘private- charitable foundation whose main objective
is to give proper recognition through the conferment of awards of excellence
and distinction to individuals or groups worldwide who have distinguished
themselves as brilliant exemplars of society or who contributed toward the
attainment of peace and respect for human life and dignity.’
The media in Swaziland reported the announcement
uncritically even though only weeks earlier Dlamini had been condemned
internationally after he said critics of his government should
be tortured by having their feet whipped.
Two months previously in July 2010 Amnesty International
issued
a special plea for its supporters to protest about the
Dlamini government, ‘because political activists, human rights defenders and
trade unionists in Swaziland were at risk of harassment, ill-treatment and
arrest, as the authorities use draconian counter-terror legislation to
investigate a spate of government-targeted petrol bombings’.
Although the media in Swaziland fell for the story,
proper journalists elsewhere smelt a rat. How could someone with Prime Minister
Dlamini’s history
of human rights violations be considered for a global medal
as a humanitarian?
Africa
Contact in Denmark and Swazi Media Commentary unearthed the
con-trick in a matter of hours.
They went to the Internet and found the website for
WCA. On there they found a list of trustees who were said to be the backbone of
the organisation. Each person listed had a reputation as advocates for human
rights and it seemed odd that they would vote to give Dlamini a medal.
Each of the trustees was emailed and within hours
one of them replied to say he was the victim
of a hoax. It turned
out that none of the trustees had ever heard of WCA and certainly were not
supporters.
The globally-respected Associated Press (AP) news
agency took
up the story and realised that the WCA was a sham
organisation consisting only of a website and an accommodation address.
Once the AP story hit the Internet, journalists in
the Bahamas who knew Rudy King of old ran
reports about his background as a con-artist.
All this was revealed before the award ceremony took
place on 2 October 2010. Despite the overwhelming evidence that he was the
victim of a con-trick, Prime Minister Dlamini flew to the Bahamas and collected
his medal.
On his return to Swaziland Dlamini refused
to accept he had been conned. He told the Swazi Senate that the award was
legitimate because people of ‘high stature’ were present with him at the
awards. Among the people of ‘high stature’ were Ashford and Simpson, a
singer-songwriter duo who last had a hit in the 1980s.
Dlamini told
a news conference, ‘In 2005 he [Rudy King] gave an award to a prince
[David], gave a medal to Prince Guduza in 2007 and to the prime
minister in 2008, so what is the difference now in 2010?
His history in Swaziland is rich. This is the fourth medal he has presented to
Swazis but now the focus is on 2010.’
The only difference between 2010 and the previous
years was that proper journalists refused simply to rewrite the Prime
Minister’s press releases and instead did their job. Rudy King had conned them
all.
To this day, Prime Minister Dlamini probably thinks
he is considered as a ‘highly respected global figure, whose role in history
has been significant’. Rudy King probably does not care. After he finished
conning the vain Prime Minister he moved on.
In August 2014 the Nassau Guardian, a newspaper in the Bahamas reported
Rudy King was up to his old tricks. This time The King
Global Humanitarian Foundation and an outfit he called Celebrating Women
International (CWI) claimed to be raising funds for HIV and AIDS causes when it
was not.
The newspaper reported CWI had been soliciting women
from across The Bahamas to receive awards for their contributions to society.
The newspaper added King had been indicted twice in
the United States on fraud charges.
See
also
SWAZILAND
PM IS BOGUS DOCTOR
SWAZI
PM MEDAL BOGUS - OFFICIAL
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