There has been a bit of activity on social media
recently with people speculating about how would eSwatini choose a new king if
the need arose. You might be interested in reading something I wrote back in
2011 about how King Mswati himself came to the throne
Richard Rooney
PLOTS, INTRIGUE AND THE SWAZI KING
Swazi Media Commentary 25 January 2011
King Mswati III of Swaziland must be a very
worried man at news that court papers relating to a treason
trial held in secret shortly after he came to the throne have come to light
after 23 years.
The
papers, which were deliberately removed from Swaziland after the trial in 1987
and have been unearthed in Namibia, could 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. Put simply, a political group plotting within the ruling elite of
Swaziland supported him. Does he owe his position and wealth to them – and who
knows, if today that same group wanted to withdraw its support, what happens
next?
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 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, 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 early
1989, rumors circulated to the effect that Prince Mfanasibili had attempted to
orchestrate a coup while in prison. Other rumors suggested that Mfanasibili was
planning an escape from prison for the purpose of mounting a coup. After
Mswati's coronation, royal infighting and intrigue remained very much an aspect
of Swazi governance.’
According
to the Times Sunday, an independent newspaper in
Swaziland, the court papers that have just come to light relate to the trial of
Prince Mfanasibili, Robert Mabila and George Msibi, three of the men convicted
of treason. They are now said to want redress from the present Swazi
Government. Mabila had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment and Prince
Mfanasibili and Msibi were given 15-year jail terms. They were released after
an order from King Mswati III in 1988.
I doubt
if it is entirely a coincidence but on 15 January 2011 Prince Mfanasibili
called his family together for a private
meeting in which he is said to have given his version of the events
surrounding the treason case. Some details of the ‘private’ meeting were reported
in the Times of Swaziland yesterday (24 January 2011).
Until now
the treason court judgement has remained secret. If the three men seeking
redress from the government press their case, it is difficult to see how the
details can remain secret much longer.
See also
HOW A
SWAZI KING IS MADE
http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2008/07/how-swazi-king-is-made.html
SCHOOLBOOK REVEALS ROYAL FAMILY RIFT
SCHOOLBOOK REVEALS ROYAL FAMILY RIFT
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