| An Indun Poet |
Posted
on 21-Apr-04 08:32 AM
Swazi king fired PM by text message
1 hour, 1 minute ago
MBABANE (Reuters) - Swaziland's King Mswati fired former Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini last year via a text message on his cellphone, enraged local lawmakers say.
"This was an embarrassment," said Magwagwa Mdluli, a former natural resources minister now serving in parliament.
Attorney General Phesheya Dlamini, reportedly acting on instructions from the king, sent Dlamini an SMS message in September informing him he was being replaced as part of a wider government shake-up ahead of parliamentary elections.
The new parliament -- regarded, like its predecessor, as little more than a rubber stamp for royal policies -- convened last month and members this week reviewed Dlamini's termination.
Political analysts said many royal loyalists were shocked by the abrupt method used to dump the long-time prime minister, who had been a strong supporter of Mswati in his role as sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch.
"If a loyalist Sibusiso could be kicked out so rudely, it says a lot about palace attitudes towards those who serve them," one Mbabane attorney said.
It was not clear whether the king had sanctioned the method of firing by text message.
Mswati has sparked controversy over what critics say are increasingly authoritarian policies coupled with a lavish royal lifestyle.
The young king hit the news again this week as some 10,000 guests gathered for a massive party to mark his 36th birthday, a luxury some critics said was inappropriate for an impoverished landlocked kingdom where more than two-thirds of the people live on less than $1 per day.
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