By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE:Mokgweetsi Masisi,the President of the Republic of Botswana came hard on King Mswati for allegedly hiding and aiding former President Lieutenant General Ian Khama,who is wanted in his home country for alleged possession of illegal firearms.

In an article published by the Botswana’s Mnegi newspaper on Friday,President Masisi was quoted having told Mswati to back-off as Botswana will never be an absolute Monarchy.

President Masisi accused King Mswati of colluding with Ian Khama,the former Head of the Botswana Defense Force,to topple the Botswana government and turn the Southern African country into an absolute Monarchy like eSwatini.

King Mswati rules eSwatini as an absolute Monarch, political parties are banned from participating in elections,while human rights defenders and political activists are arrested,tortured and killed for demanding democracy.

The Botswana President vented his frustration about King Mswati and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa for hiding Ian Khama this week,when addressing the Heads of Missions abroad who had convened in Botswana to confer on the opportunities that are available in each country.He said Khama has been hiding in South Africa with an alternative home in eSwatini, an absolute Monarchy.

“His other home is at the absolute Kingdom,the absolute Monarch,the Monarchy of Eswatini. And it is not a surprise because you know as they say with magnetism,like attract and in his desires of Botswana and in the way that he has conducted his affairs in Botswana, when we look back now.He deeply yearns for an absolute Monarchy for here. And that is why there is such attraction to Eswatini, the only absolute Monarchy fundamentally different from our republic.I say this because I told the King that we are not the same.We will never be the same and that is why we do not tolerate tendencies of absolute Monarchy”, said the Botswana President when addressing the Heads of Missions this week.

Mswati and Khama have been consistently seen together and on Friday this week,the wanted former Botswana President was among the King’s guests during the Army Day held at the Army Headquarters-Nokwane.

It is alleged that, Ian Khama left South Africa and permanently re-located to eSwatini after a minor misunderstanding with President Cyril Ramaphosa and this, comes after he lost a case with the Johannesburg High Court where he was seeking to prevent an arrest should Botswana file for an extradition.

The Office of the South African President could not be reached for comments at the time of compiling this report.

Responding to this Swaziland News on Saturday evening,King Mswati’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane ruled the Botswana President out of order for ignoring the United Nations(UN) Protocols on settling disputes and complaints between two(2) countries.

The King’s Spokesperson clarified that, Lieutenant General Ian Khama does not reside in eSwatini but, comes as a tourist or King’s Guest during National events. 

“He appears to be out of order in that he has ignored the UN Protocols on settling disputes and complaints between two countries, particularly clause 1 of the Vienna  Convention of 1961 which militates against mudslinging between two countries if there is an issue to be attended to.SADC too has similar Protocols so is the African Union.If he observed any one of these Protocols,we would have been ready to engage Botswana and explain that Eswatini has no record of any aid to their former president Ian Khama.He does not reside in Eswatini either but comes as a tourist,mostly for national events.He is not the only former Head of State who has found time to visit Eswatini or the King.Dr Kenneth David Kaunda of Zambia,Bakili Muluzi of Malawi,Jacob Zuma of South Africa have been here.We would also be ready to tell President Masisi that claim is nothing more than optical illusion”, said the King’s Spokesperson.