King Mswati III is drunk with power!!
| Thursday May 22, 2014 10:59
The recent detention of the country’s human rights lawyer Bheki Makhubu, the leader of People’s Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) Mario Masuku and the Secretary General of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) Maxwel Dlamini by the notoriously oppressive Swaziland ruler King Mswati III, is an indication that, the man is completely drunk with power.
The last absolute monarchy in Sub-Sahara Africa is accusing the group of inciting disaffection against the independence of the country’s severely compromised judicial system. The BNF-YL is challenging the BDP government to come up clear and call upon King Mswati III to stop using torture and excessive force to control the masses as well as blatant discrimination against various dissenting groups.
It baffles the mind for the Ian Khama’s Administration to remain silent when the people of Swaziland are faced with the problem of the extra-judicial killings, arbitrary arrests, detentions, unwarranted searches and seizures of homes and property by King Mswati III’s undemocratic regime. Since King Mswati III ascended to power in 1986, he decided to restrict the freedom of speech, assembly and association. The harassment of the political activists and journalists also became the order of the day. The country’s High Courts took little or no action to punish his actions or the top officials who committed abuses.
Under King Mswati III’s autocratic regime, the country has been gripped by years of government institutionalised corruption and lavish lifestyles of the royal family. So, the BNF-YL does not need an angel from heaven to come and tell us that, due to these factors, the people of Swaziland are on the brink of economic disaster.
Truly speaking, the 24 years have seen the king develop a reputation for profligacy, ostentation and petty-self-indulgence in a country where 30 percent of the people are unemployed and 70 percent subsiding on one American Dollar a day. Beyond poverty, royal absurdities are nestled in the context of an especially horrifying reality-25 percent of Swazis are HIV positive or have AIDS.
Meanwhile, in 2004 it was reported that King Mswati III requested his government to spend about 15 million American Dollars to redecorate three main palaces and build others for each of his 11 wives. On his birthday the same year, he bought 10 BMW Seven Series vehicles for himself and some of his wives. Again, in 2005 he spent six million Amalangeni on his birthday party on April-25. Lastly, the BNF-YL is reminding the people of Swaziland to stand up and rid themselves of the parasitic elements of the absolute monarchy if their country is to prosper.
Malatsi Mokhubami
Bnf-Youth League Secretary
Of Publicity
Gaborone