When King Sobhuza II of Swaziland died in 1982 after 61 years on the throne, the people of that tiny southern African kingdom lamented, Umntfwana sowuphumulile: the child has gone to rest. Now the slogan of the day in Swaziland (pop. 800,000) is a much more cheerful Umntfwana sowukhulile: the child has grown into a man.
The object of that acclaim is Sobhuza's strong-willed son and successor, Mswati III, at 19 the world's youngest reigning monarch. Five years after his father's death, Mswati has finally shown that he can use his full regal powers with a vengeance. So far this year he has arrested a dozen high Swazi officials, including five members of the royal family, on suspicion of sedition and treason. Says a Swazi journalist in Mbabane, the capital: "Mswati is clearly angry at the intrigue that took place following his father's death and is determined to put things right."
Some of that intrigue almost seems inspired by the early reign of Louis XIV of France. Mswati, formerly known as Prince Makhosetive, officially took the throne in April of last year. For the four previous years, Swaziland had been ruled by a regent, initially Queen Dzeliwe, one of Sobhuza's 50 or more wives, though not the mother of the current King. In 1983 Prince Mfanasibili, a powerful member of the Liqoqo, or royal advisory council, masterminded Dzeliwe's ouster and replaced her with Ntombi, mother of the young King-to-be. Mfanasibili then talked the new Queen regent into allowing him and his coterie to take political control over the Liqoqo and thereby in effect run the country.
Mfanasibili went to bizarre lengths to maintain his position. In 1983, while the youthful Prince Makhosetive was attending a private school in Dorset, England (where he was known to classmates as "Mac"), Mfanasibili charged that several members of the royal house had plotted to assassinate their future King. The weapon of choice, according to Mfanasibili, was a witch doctor, who was sent to England to hunt down the prince and poison him. As a result of Mfanasibili's charges, several princes loyal to the ousted Queen regent were detained without trial, as were a handful of ranking Swazi officials, including police and army chiefs.
By the time Mswati was installed as King last year, however, Mfanasibili was in deep trouble. His enemies on the Liqoqo had rallied against him, leading to Mfanasibili's trial and subsequent conviction on charges of framing his political opponents. He was given a seven-year jail sentence. Five months later Mswati, in a spirited gesture of independence, fired his Prime Minister and cousin, Bhekimpi Dlamini, before a crowd of thousands, and then appointed a former personal bodyguard to the job. Finally, in May the King ordered the arrest and detention of Bhekimpi and eleven others, including five princes and princesses, a Cabinet minister and the former national ombudsman. Trial dates have not been set for any of the detainees.