I read with discomfort and shock your opinion piece where you suggest that the King was embarrassed following a technical glitch that lasted a few seconds this past Saturday at the UNESWA graduation ceremony.
You further suggested that there must be consequences for the innocent mistake. To quote your own words “It’s possible that the service provider or the Events Management Company will receive the whole payment despite this huge embarrassment.”.
This statement from the editor shows lack of basic understanding for the struggles of small and upcoming Swazi businesses.
I may not know the full details about the sound system provider, but I know for sure that Swazi businesses struggle every day and we must never wish misfortune on them.
The sound system provider deserves all that is due to him or her because ultimately the glitch was quickly corrected, clearly this was an honest and human mistake.
The problem which I identify here is that the editor elevates the King to a demigod status, someone who must always be seen to be perfect, yet he is a complete biological creation born of a woman following the normal procreation process.
The King was born after nine(9) months like all of us, his mother experienced labour pains and pangs ultimately giving birth to a child the normal way.
The King was then “elevated” by his family to the status of King, the elevation of the King to a godly status whereby everyone around the King is expected to be perfect in all they say and do smacks of ignorance.
His Majesty the King missed an opportunity to humanize himself at least for a few seconds, a very rare opportunity that was going to add some humanness to him after being morally and ideologically isolated from the people in 2021.
The King was supposed to show humility and kindness in front of the thousands who were watching, the King was supposed to prove his critics wrong and try to show that he is not the brute that we say he is.
Behaving like a lover who had just caught on a cheating partner the King threw a tantrum on the helpless sound technician, it was bad.
It is not the King who was embarrassed, it was everyone who supports and stands by him, it was an embarrassing moment for royalty.
For us PUDEMO members what happened at the University of Eswatini(UNESWA) Graduation Ceremony was a confirmation of everything we have been saying about the royal family and Tinkhundla system.
The royal family only cares for and about themselves, their well-being and satisfaction, everyone else doesn’t matter to them.
Mr editor what further leaves a bitter taste in my mouth is how your article seeks to sanitize the image of the King. How dare you?.
The Swazi people have been oppressed, silenced and violated for 52 years, but have never scolded the King like he did that sound technician.
We have never been given an opportunity to “scold and shout at the king in person. He is 1 and we are 1.2 million and we want to talk to him and tell him how we feel yet we never get that opportunity. Honourable Bacede and Mthandeni tried to “scold” him, but he threw them in jail, many Swazis who dared to “scold” the King are now in exile, some even dead.
The good thing that came from this technical glitch is that the King now knows how it feels to be silenced.
The King now knows how it feels to have your voice taken away even if it’s for twenty-one(21) seconds.
In conclusion, what happened in June 2021 must never be forgotten, we must not be silenced and the microphone must be brought closer to us, we want to speak, and no one must take the mic away from us.
Until we know who ordered the massacre of hundreds of our people, we shall keep on speaking, no one must take the microphone away from us, the King owes the people an explanation on how hundreds got to be killed in 2021.
As a Head of State, he is responsible for accountability when such atrocities occur and we as PUDEMO, can never sanitize the King’s image when no one has been arrested for the massacre of our people, surely someone must be held accountable.
I remember the words of our Treasurer General comrade Velaphi Mamba in one of our NEC deliberations where he said.” We must never give King Mswati the soap to wash the blood on his hands”
The King must know that a leader is slow to anger, a leader is patient, a leader guides and gives direction.
A leader clarifies, a leader eats last, a leader leaves last, a leader unites but more than that a real leader takes responsibility.
King Mswati.