Swaziland King reportedly hiding $30 million of Libyan money for Jacob Zuma

King Mswati III, the absolute monarch of Swaziland / Eswatini, is reportedly hiding US$30 million of money from Libya for his friend Jacob Zuma, the former president of South Africa.

The Sunday Times newspaper in South Africa reported (7 April 2019) that the money was secretly moved to Eswatini earlier this year from Zuma’s Nkandla residence where it had been hidden. The money had reportedly been given to Zuma by late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

A high-ranking intelligence source told the Sunday Times that its investigations had revealed that the money had been moved in five tranches from Nkandla and transported to Eswatini.

King Mswati III reportedly confirmed the existence of the money to South Africa’s current President Cyril Ramaphosa during a meeting at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg.

The AFP news agency reported, ‘According to the Sunday Times’ sources, Zuma travelled to Libya in 2011 with then intelligence minister Siyabonga Cwele, where the delegation offered the Libyan leader safe passage to SA as rebel forces closed in.

‘According to an insider, Gaddafi gave Zuma the cash, saying that if he was captured Zuma must find him a good lawyer to represent him at the International Criminal Court. 

‘Gaddafi died while being chased by rebels in Tripoli in October 2011.’

The Sunday Times reported, ‘The money was said to have been transported out of King Shaka airport in Durban bound for Eswatini, where it was to be stored by the Central Bank of Eswatini.

‘But highly placed sources in the country said the bank’s governor Majozi Sithole refused to deposit the cash pile. Sorting out the cash pile was left to deputy governor Mhlabuhlangene Dlamini, who is related to the king.

‘“The deputy governor is involved. He is the one who went with JZ [Zuma] to go and count the money. He took some people at the bank, they apparently flew to King Shaka airport, counted out the money and brought it back. Majozi is refusing to put the cash into the system,” said an insider with links to both the royal household and the bank.’

The Sunday Times reported that according to government sources Zuma allegedly held the stash of high-denomination US dollar bills for several years in an underground vault at his luxurious home in rural Kwazulu Natal. Zuma handed it over to King Mswati of Eswatini after fearing he would face charges in South Africa over corruption allegations.

The newspaper said the Libyans had asked President Ramaphosa to help get the money back. It reported Gaddafi’s son Saif al Islam wanted to contest elections later this year.

King Mswati and Jacob Zuma have a close personal relationship. In October 2017 Princess Ziyanda, a member of the Swazi Royal Family, married Zuma’s son Mxolisi. The princess was the second member of the royal family to marry into the Zuma family, the Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King, reported at the time. 

The Observer reported, ‘The Zuma family alone presented her [Princess Ziyanda] with close to E600,000 in hard cash.’ In Swaziland seven in ten of the population live on incomes less than E55 a day. The Zuma family also paid the King 121 cattle as lobola [bride price] for the princess.

King Mswati was a close ally of Gaddafi and made trips to Libya for talks about securing business and financial aid for Swaziland.

In 2002, King Mswati, made Gaddafi a Grand Counsellor of the Order of Sobhuza II, the royal palace’s highest honour and named after Mswati’s father.

One of the king’s sons, Prince Sicalo, underwent intensive military training in Libya. 

King Mswati was both a political ally and a friend of Gaddafi. In 2001, when King Mswati was struck down with a mystery illness (widely believed at the time to be caused by deliberate poisoning) Gaddafi flew a team of doctors to Swaziland to treat the king. 

In 2009, Gaddafi sent the king six camels as ‘a token of friendship’. 

Both the Swazi and South African governments denied the existence of the money. It was reported by Africa News 24-7 that Zuma intended to sue the Sunday Times for defamation.

King Mswati, makes Gaddafi a Grand Counsellor of the Order of Sobhuza II. Picture: Without The King documentary

See also

Wikileaks: Swazi Gaddafi gaffe

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-swazi-gaddafi-gaffe.html

WHY SO MUCH MILITARY TRAINING?

For a kingdom, often described by King Mswati III and the sycophants who support him, as ‘peaceful’ there’s an awful lot of military training going on at present.

Last week it was announced that Swaziland and the Russian Ministry of Defence had signed a deal to train Swazi soldiers in Russia.

A press release from the Embassy of the Russian Federation to Mozambique said Russia would provide training in a number of military disciplines that include medicine, artillery and engineering.

This is the latest in a number of ‘deals’ Swaziland has done with foreign powers – most of them with dubious human rights records – to train military personnel.

In December 2010, it was revealed that Swazi military forces were to be sent to Pakistan for training. The details of the training were not released, but in view of the ongoing civil strife in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, one could be forgiven for concluding that the training was in how to deal with an uprising of a civilian population.

Pakistan’s military has an appalling record when it comes to attacking its own citizens. In the same week the Swaziland – Pakistan deal was announced, Wikileaks revealed the United States was concerned about massive human right violations in Pakistan, especially where suspected ‘terrorists’ were concerned.

As we know King Mswati and Barnabas Dlamini, the man he unconstitutionally-appointed Prime Minister, label anyone who opposes them ‘terrorists’.

The deal was made at about the same time that Wikileaks also revealed that a weapons deal worth US$60 million had been blocked by the UK Government amid fears that the Swaziland King would use the guns, troop carriers and helicopters against the Swazi people.

Pakistan is not the only country that has helped to train military personnel for the king. The king’s eldest son, Prince Sicalo was undergoing several years training as a military pilot in Libya when the present rebellion started. As soon as trouble began, Sicalo ran away home to his father’s arms.

Sicalo’s brother Prince Lindani has also undergone military training abroad. In his case he went to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where he passed out as an officer cadet in August 2010.

So, all that amounts to a lot of military training, But what is it all for? Swaziland is not about to declare war on another state and it is highly unlikely it’s about to be invaded. King Mswati should tell us what’s going on.

Otherwise, we must inevitably reach the conclusion that the military are being trained to keep the king in power should an uprising start.

‘KING MUST NEGOTIATE FOR REFORM’

Swaziland’s King Mswati III and the government he hand-picked should negotiate with the Swazi people for political reform – before an uprising starts.

With popular uprisings across North Africa and the Middle East, turning former dictatorships into fledgling democracies, there are stirrings of unrest in Swaziland.

Musa Hlophe, coordinator of the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations, writing in the Times Sunday today (27 February 2011), says, ‘... with events showing that the populations of North Africa and the Middle East are now demanding the same things we [in Swaziland] are demanding: democracy, our government has a serious problem of adjusting to the new realities. My take is that we are all better off if our leaders were to take the lead, like the monarchies of Bahrain and Jordan have done: lead the change processes.’

He writes, ‘They should initiate the necessary reforms, engage the opposition and the larger civil society in shaping a new direction for the country, in political terms.’

Here is an extract from his article. To read it in full, click here.

The pictures that touched my heart

Personally, I believe that events in North Africa and the Middle East, have grave implications for the kingdom of Eswatini.

Given the fact that Swaziland had already turned their backs on the West, adopting, instead, a look-East policy, it therefore follows that with the East crumbling, Swaziland is left in limbo, politically.

We all know why Swaziland decided to look East. They were being troubled by their Western friends who kept nudging them to move towards democratisation. The Swazi government has never cherished the idea of democracy. They hate the very word: democracy, although calling their Tinkhundla system a democratic one, simply because it allows unfettered control over the citizens.

Democracy

Therefore, with events showing that the populations of North Africa and the Middle East are now demanding the same things we are demanding: democracy, our government has a serious problem of adjusting to the new realities. My take is that we are all better off if our leaders were to take the lead, like the monarchies of Bahrain and Jordan have done: lead the change processes.

They should initiate the necessary reforms, engage the opposition and the larger civil society in shaping a new direction for the country, in political terms.

Let us not wait until we are overtaken by the revolution, however remotely possible this may look for now.

If we do nothing and hope to rely on the army to keep us in power, we may live to regret it.

Remember, trying to negotiate in the middle of a revolution is very dangerous because by then, you are either ignored or told that you are coming too late when people are no longer prepared to make concessions. It is better when we anticipate and lead change, we can do it at our own pace and terms. It is interesting to note the difference in strategy that the Libyan government took from all of the others in keeping the Army deliberately weak.

This was so that Gaddafi could not lose power the way that he took it – through a military coup. The people that are murdering Libyans in the streets are not the regular army but mercenaries from across Africa and the world who have no duty or ethics to protect their people only to take orders and wages. A real army knows the difference between protecting a government and protecting a country and its people.

This is why the tank commanders in Egypt were seen removing their headsets and not obeying plainly illegal orders.

International Press reports this week have shown that our government has been trying to buy some seriously powerful weaponry, including helicopter gunships and heavy machine guns.

I wonder who the intended targets are.

RISE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN SWAZILAND

The recent uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt and now Libya have fascinated many within the pro-democracy groups in Swaziland. By the same token, the ruling regime has been rattled. In an undemocratic country like Swaziland, people have good reason to monitor what is happening in the north and to – a large extent – even aspire to have the same courage and motivation as the revolutionaries. Given the mainstream media’s failure to adequately cover these events, Swazi citizens are turning to Facebook to find out the news – and plan their own uprising, Manqoba Nxumalo writes in the latest edition of Free African Media.

Mainstream media in Swaziland has not paid much attention to the uprisings in the north, let alone pointed out the lessons to be learnt, not just by the present regime in the country, but also similar by dictators all over the continent. In fact, it has been conspicuously silent on updating the Swazi nation on what is happening in north Africa.

Nxumalo explores the rise of social media in Swaziland and its influence in galvanising people in Swaziland.

To read the full article, click here.

SWAZI PRINCE RUNS AWAY FROM LIBYA

The ruling elite in Swaziland is acting as if there is a major crisis with the news that Prince Sicalo, King Mswati III’s first-born son, is training in Libya as a soldier.

Officials at the ‘highest level’ are reported to be ‘working around the clock to ensure the safe evacuation’ of the prince out of the country.

Prince Sicalo has been in Libya for a number of years undergoing ‘specialist’ military training with the murderous regime, headed by Colonel Muammar Gadaffi.

This week, a popular uprising against Gaddafi has seen many hundreds of protestors killed by Gadaffi’s troops and reportedly also by foreign mercenaries, some from sub-Saharan Africa.

Official sources have refused to reveal what military training the prince, who is a lieutenant in the Umbutfo Swaziland Defence Force (USDF), was undertaking, claiming it is ‘sensitive’ information.

Whatever the training, Prince Sicalo is showing his true colours. He is a professional soldier on secondment to Libya and the first moment there is a fight, he runs home to Daddy. That’s not very brave. But I’ll bet that when he eventually makes it back to Swaziland, the media will hail him as a ‘hero’.

At least the Swaziland ruling elite aren’t claiming that the Swazi people are holding their breath for news of the Prince’s safety.

But, according to the Times of Swaziland, an independent newspaper in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati, the last absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, ‘a high level committee has been constituted in the country to coordinate and ensure the safe return of Prince Sicalo.

It added, ‘the committee comprises senior officials within the King’s Office, Tibiyo Taka Ngwane, Prime Minister’s office, USDF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.’

Clifford Mamba, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Prince Sicalo was still in Libya, and there were efforts to evacuate him.

‘The situation involving His Royal Highness being in Libya at this time is manageable. We are working on getting him out, and one way or the other we will get him out safely,’ he said.

See also

KING’S FRIEND TURNS ARMY ON PEOPLE

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/02/kings-friend-turns-army-on-people.html