Unrest has threatened the monarch’s security, says The East African newspaper
King Eswatini Mswati III has left the country in an emergency where major unrest has threatened the monarch’s security. This was reported on Tuesday by The East African newspaper.
The king fled the country after protests sparked by a government ban on demonstrations escalated into riots on June 28, it said. Shops were burnt and looted in the cities. Where exactly the monarch was heading, the paper did not say.
Widespread protests have been taking place in Eswatini since last week. According to the newspaper, the police initially used tear gas but later they started using guns and live ammunition to disperse the protests.
The constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini is a monarchy. The king has legislative and executive powers, with the monarch appointing the prime minister, members of the government, judges and civil servants. The kingdom, which was called Swaziland until spring 2018, is located in southern Africa over an area of 17,000 square kilometres and is the 153rd largest country in the world. The country borders South Africa and Mozambique, being landlocked.
Mswati III ascended the throne in 1986 after the death of his father Sobhuza II. According to Swazi tradition, to which the royal dynasty belongs, the monarch rules jointly with his mother or her ritual deputy. The king lacks one important right: he cannot appoint an heir. He is elected by a special National Council of the Eswatini, but it does so indirectly. The council first chooses a “grand wife” from among the monarch’s wives. It is her son who will inherit the kingdom. The 53 year old Mswati III has officially 15 wives to date. Only three ruling monarchies still remain in Africa. Apart from Eswatini, these are Morocco and Lesotho.