AP
King of Swaziland Mswati III sits during an official function in Colombo, Sri Lanka in 2012.
Mbabane – Swaziland’s decades-old efforts to acquire large sections of Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal seem to be plagued by supernatural forces that are “killing off” members of King Mswati’s Border Adjustment Committee.
The committee members themselves are making this claim, citing a rash of deaths of fellow committee members. The long-serving head of Swaziland’s army, Brigadier Commander Fonono Dube, who was appointed to the committee by King Mswati after his retirement, is the latest official to refuse to attend border adjustment meetings.
“I have decided to leave. I consider (my recent sickness) as an ill-fated attempt on my life,” Dube told the Swaziland media at the weekend.
The Times of Swaziland refers to the committee as “bewitched”.
Over the past two years, four committee members have died, all from undisclosed illnesses. These include King Mswati’s brother, Prince Khuzulwandle Dlamini, who was the long-standing committee chairman, and the secretary, Thulani Matsebula.
After the deaths of committee members Madidane Dlamini and Sipho Shongwe, another committee member and former palace adviser to King Mswati, Sandlane Zwane, refused to enter the building that houses the committee officers.
“I fear for my life,” Zwane said.
Dube also refuses to enter the committee offices, located at Swaziland’s traditional capital, Lobamba, halfway between Mbabane and Manzini. However, he says he has not resigned and expects to be paid.
The Border Adjustment Committee is considered a sinecure for royal cronies.
“Committee members are people the king doesn’t know what to do with, but they are friends and family members or people he wants to keep in the fold,” said Amos Ndwandwe, a political observer in Mbabane.
About the alleged dispute, Ndwandwe said: “South Africa has never discussed the land dispute because the South African government doesn’t feel a dispute exists.” – Mercury Foreign Service
