PHOTOS: King Mswati III arrives for AU summit in traditional regalia
King Mswati III of the Eswatini Kingdom on Saturday, February 15, 2025, arrived in Addis Ababa Ethiopia for the African Union (AU) 38th ordinary session in full traditional attire.
The monarch who rose to power at just 18 years of age arrived in Ethiopia for the summit of African heads off state who are expected to elect the top leadership of the AU commission during their sittings from Saturday, February 15, 2025 to Sunday, February 16, 2025.
Mswati whose real name is Makhosetive Dlamini succeeded the late King Sobhuza II in 1986 after the monarch died at 82 years of age.
Absolute monarch
Mswati III is an absolute monarch who has sweeping powers to choose members of the cabinet and also the judiciary.
He also has veto powers over all the other branches of the government and is immune from prosecution. However, the Kingdom of Eswatini bars him traditionally from choosing his own heir to the throne.
With absolute power in his kingdom, Mswati is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the police force and the correctional services.
He also exerts unbridled influence on local administrations through his control and grip on the traditional chiefs in the Eswatini kingdom.
Changed country’s name
During Swaziland’s 50th commemoration of independence in 2018, King Mswati III announced that he was renaming the country the Kingdom of Eswatini meaning the land of Swazis.
In 2001 at the height of an HIV/AIDS pandemic in the country, Mswati III decreed that girls below the age of 18 were banned from having sexual relations to curb the spread of the virus.
While the state appoints the king two wives at any given time, King Mswati III is reported to have in excess of 15 wives since ascending to power in 1986.
