Swaziland’s King Mswati III was in the international
spotlight in the last quarter of 2015. He was reported to the United Nations
over the deaths in a traffic accident of children and young women who were on
their way to dance half-naked for him at the kingdom’s annual Reed Dance. It is
argued that the ceremony is unlawful
and perpetuates forced marriages, inconsistent with international human rights
standards.
In the British Virgin Islands, the King is being personally being sued over a US$3.5 million debt
relating to repairs and improvements to his private jet aircraft. His
representative told the court that he had no financial assets outside of
Swaziland. In the past it was reported that King Mswati had a net worth of
US$200 million.
These are two of the stories from the past
three months that has been reported by Swazi Media Commentary and is included
in Swaziland: Striving for Freedom, Vol 20. This compilation covering the
months October to December 2015 brings together posts that originally appeared
on the Swazi Media Commentary website. It is available free of charge from the Scribd
website.
Elsewhere, lawyers in Swaziland and an international
human rights group CIVICUS jointly called judicial persecution, harassment and
intimidation of members of civil society organisations in the kingdom to end.
In a submission to the United Nations they also call for restrictions on
freedom of assembly to be lifted.
Swaziland has become an ‘open-air prison, a militarised society and a
royal farm’ in which people become mere farmworkers for the King and his
family, according to research published in the international academic journal,
Review of African Political Economy.
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