An orphan whose father died,leaving behind an Estate worth about R 2 million was almost in tears as she narrated how an employee within the Masters Office told them that the money was borrowed by the King.

“My father died and left R1.6million in his various bank accounts, that money was transferred to the bank account of the Master of the High Court.The Master’s office is now struggling to pay us and after numerous enquiries, one of the employees told us that the money was borrowed by the King.She even showed us proof suggesting that there was no money in the account,” said the orphan.

In the midst of this investigation,Phumzile Thomo-Masilela,the Master of the High Court was asked to clarify if it was true that the money was ‘grabbed’ by the King, she referred questions to the Registrar of the High Court.

“I am not authorized to respond to your questions on this matter, kindly contact the Registrar of the High Court or the Supreme Court”, said the Master of the High Court.

Mswati,directly and indirectly,has been previously been accused of being involved in the misappropriation of public funds in various entities that include the Public Service Pension Fund(PSPF),Provident Fund and the Scholarship Recovery Fund among others.

As per the directive of the Master of the High Court,a questionnaire was sent to Siphiwo Mabila,the Registrar of the Supreme Court, however,she had not responded at the time of compiling this report.

On or around January 2021,Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala stopped a high level investigation by Parliament whose terms of reference was to investigate the alleged corruption currently manifesting within the office of the Master of the High Court.

An insider very close to the matter told this Swaziland News that Mswati allegedly colluded with Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala to misappropriate the public funds within the office of the Master of the High Court.

”It is for these reasons the investigation by Parliament was stopped”, said the insider.

Maphalala allegedly manipulated the doctrine of the separation of powers to sabotage the investigation saying the judiciary was independent and Parliament had no power to interfere in it’s operations.

Thabile Mdluli, the Deputy Government Spokesperson who also speaks on behalf of Mswati had not responded at the time of compiling this report.

Reached for comments,Lungelo Zulu,the Executive Director of Mhluma Women and Youth Foundation said he was aware of the matter and urged the office of the Master of the High Court to communicate and explain to the public why the money was not released.

“It’s true that some widows and orphans were struggling to receive their money from the Master of the High Court. We have members who are widows, they are struggling to receive their money and we expect the office of the Master to explain where did the money go,” said the Mhluma Executive Director.