On this day 42 years ago, Swaziland achieved its independence. The Kingdom of Swaziland is a small landlocked country bordering Mozambique to the east and otherwise entirely surrounded by South Africa. The history of the country since independence, like that of many other African countries, has not been an entirely happy one. Sixty percent of the population live in absolute poverty, and the HIV infection rate is the highest in the world at over 50% of adults in their 20s.
King Mswati III became the country’s head of state in 1986 following the death in 1982 of his father King Sobhuza II. The King appoints the prime minister and a number of the members of parliament, with the rest being elected. The current King is known for his many wives – currently 14 wives and 23 children – and his reckless extravagance in purchasing expensive cars and other luxury items at public expense.
Although the country has a parliament, the Swazi king is generally considered to be an absolute monarch with few practical limits to his power other than those imposed by tribal tradition. In response to the AIDS crisis, he proposed that all HIV-positive people should be sterilised and branded, but at the same time he persists in his personal polygamous practices.