Swazi king offered PR
2005-05-02 13:03
Lozitha, Swaziland - Visiting Mozambican President Armando Guebuza has pledged to help Swazi King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch, fight "bad publicity" over his extravagant lifestyle.
Meeting with Mswati late on Sunday, Guebuza said Swaziland was his "second home", having found political shelter in the kingdom which borders Mozambique during the 1960s when he was fighting Portuguese colonial rule.
"I want to assure you that I will do everything possible to ensure that the bad publicity directed at you is stopped," Guebuza told the king in Lozitha, located just outside Mbabane.
Mswati, 37, has been singled out for his lavish livestyle as ruler of the southern African kingdom, which has one of the world's highest Aids infection rates and where more than 65% of the 1.2 million inhabitants live on less than one dollar a day.
The king, who ascended to the throne at the age of 18, last month organised a million-dollar-plus bash for his 37th birthday.
The celebrations followed the highly-publicised purchase of expensive cars including the US$500000 Daimler-Chrysler Maybach 62 and a new fleet of Mercedes for him and his 11 wives and two teenage fiancees.
Guebuza, who is to be the guest of honour at a state banquet later on Monday hosted by the king, said he wanted closer ties between Mozambique and Swaziland.
"We are neighbours and I am looking to a time when all barriers impacting on the free flow of our people are removed," said Guebuza.
A businessman considered to be among the wealthiest in Mozambique, Guebuza has travelled to Angola, Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe since taking office in early February. After Swaziland, he is to head to Tanzania.