The comments about the
Swazi King came from Earl Irvine in February 2010, when he was the US
Ambassador to Swaziland.
In a confidential
cable to Washington released
by Wikileaks, Irvine said King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch,
had a ‘lack of wisdom’.
Quoting an informant,
Irvine wrote the king was ‘not a reader, and would not review documents left
for him. [The informant] called the king ‘not intellectually well-developed,’
and contrasted his poor educational background with his father Sobhuza II, who
was educated at Lovedale College in South Africa alongside future leaders of
South Africa’s African National Congress (ANC).
Irvine wrote, ‘Essentially
a bastard outsider to the royal family, King Mswati III was plucked from
relative obscurity when members of the royal family could not come to an
agreement on a successor to King Sobhuza II.
‘After Mswati III was
selected to be the next king, a posthumous marriage of Sobhuza II to Ntombi
[the Queen Mother] was quickly arranged, according to our interlocutor.’
Irvine wrote, ‘Unlike in
his early years, the king now identifies and pushes specific projects, and will
look to replace ministers or employees who are unable to provide progress on
those projects.’
Irvine quoted his
informant calling King Mswati ‘imbalanced’. He gave an anecdote to illustrate
this. ‘The king, [the informant] said, invited about 40 officials and advisors
to a basement in one of his palaces, where they all sat on the floor to attend to
him. King Mswati III turned up the heater, which warmed the floor first, until
the temperature in the room reached about 40 degrees Celsius, and told
inconsequential stories to those gathered while they sweated, merely to show
them he was in power.’
Irvine also reported that
the king’s mother had a sexual affair with Lutfo Dlamini, Swaziland’s former Foreign
Minister.
And the Queen Mother Ntombi’s
‘associations with men’ had undermined the power she had to influence King
Mswati’s decision-making.
Irvine called the cable
he wrote to Washington ‘Witchcraft and More: A Portrait of Influences on King
Mswati III’.
In the cable Irvine said,
‘traditional leaders, superstition, and members of the royal family’ were the
major influences on the king. His ministers, however, ‘remain his servants’.
Irvine wrote, ‘The king’s
wives’ opinions matter to the king, especially his third wife, LaMbikisa, who
has an advanced degree and is the only wife to whom the king proposed.’
Irvine goes on, ‘King
Mswati III believes in muti (traditional medicine used to cast spells or
curses), and attempts to use muti to attack the king are taken seriously’.
He wrote, ‘In 1989 Prince
Mfana Sibili was accused of high treason when he allegedly used muti to try to
take away the king’s powers. When a foreign judge, brought in to hear the case,
dismissed it after hearing the charges, a traditional court was installed to
convict the prince.’
He said that ‘muti
people’ hold great sway within the royal family, and that the king must eat and
drink whatever they give him during traditional ceremonies, particularly when
in seclusion. ‘If they are unhappy with the direction the king is taking the
country, then the king has cause to worry.’
Irvine went on ‘Although
Queen Mother Ntombi is considered by many observers to be a powerful figure
within the royal family, [name of informant] indicated that her authority has
been undermined by her “associations with men,” including the then Foreign
Minister Lutfo Dlamini.
Irvine wrote, ‘Mswati III
uses the investment company African Alliance to move his money around
internationally.’
The informant indicated
that ‘the king has become more decisive during his years in office, especially
where his interests are at issue, and he views ministers and officials who tell
him he cannot do something as cowards’.
Swazi Prime Minister
Barnabas Dlamini is the king’s loyal ‘hangman,’ Irvine wrote, an assertion that
suggests that the king placed absolute trust in Barnabas.
‘Instead of looking to
influence the king, the Prime Minister acts as the king's steadfast servant, a
relationship that dates back to a suicide attempt by Barnabas in 1990 or 1991.
‘According to
[informants] in an unsuccessful attempt kept secret from the public, Barnabas
tried to commit suicide after his involvement in a corruption scandal during
his tenure as Minister of Finance became known.
‘As part of making amends
to the king, Barnabas reportedly prostrated himself before the king, giving
himself over as the king’s servant.’
No comments:
Post a Comment