The year 1986, brought a lot of hope and dreams for both ordinary Swazis who had experienced lots of political trauma under the Liqoqo interim incumbency, as well as the ruling elite who equally had turbulences of infighting between one royal faction against the other.
We had 60-day detention without trial, 12-hour curfew, random search and seizure, as well as arbitrary arrests for anyone seen talking to more than three people worse, speaking politics.
On the 25th of April 1986, the Coronation of crown Prince Makhosetive happened, who was now officially known as King Mswati 111.
In a bright and sunny Somhlolo Stadium packed with jovial nation and anticipating region, Swaziland finally had a King once again after the death of King Sobhuza II
The new King’s inaugural speech was brief and concise, but carried hope and promise for greater leadership, economic growth and not only culture of respect for human rights but most importantly restoration of rule of law pursuant to the horrific period of 12th April 1973 and the Liqoqo period.
History is better littered with concrete evidence of a strong public healthcare system in 1986, in fact so efficient that during that period Swaziland once performed one of the complex operation of a child born with a medical deformity.
We featured in a SADC Medical Magazine for having performed such an operation in a public health facility.
Swaziland had low levels of unemployment courtesy of an economy that was absorbing skills and providing opportunities to the majority of able bodied population of that time.
Swaziland had a Rural Development Agency (RDAs), a Government program that ensured food security and efficient community infrastructure projects, like roads, dams, water, and electricity led by both the ministry of works and agriculture.
Swaziland built houses for her workers, provided quality jobs, and top-class scholarships for her children to study in a highly competitive university locally and sent abroad in thousands, her children later retain them with sound quality jobs as nurses, teachers, lawyers, accountants, and doctors.
We today have entered 2026, a year in which the Head of State is going to be forty (40) years in office, a milestone for any leader to achieve, we've seen leaders turning around for greater success in just 10 years their countries.
President Lula DaSilva of Brazil, the Chinese pulled 800million of her citizens out of poverty in record time, Mauritius and Botswana countries who were faced with hard conditions with limited resources but made the best of the their choices.
Eswatini today the name is not only illegal but,have a worser human rights record, rule of law crisis, and skull-breaking economic crisis under pathetic leadership even for Tinkhundla.
We have a leader who prioritizes nothingness because he is not fit for purpose nor decisive enough to drive development and economic growth to meet the Nation’s needs.
Why the King keeps appointing either individuals who bang tables hoping solutions will then come or simply criminals, experts in thieving and mediocrity?
Eswatini has no training for her leaders and public service as such “we rely on kuphengula when choosing the next Prime Minister, we have thugs as Judges, police leaders and heads of the Army.
Looters are abusing State positions and line their pockets to the detriment of ordinary citizens who bear the cost of having all such meaningless institutions yet get either poor services or no service at all.
Criminals wield power today than ever before and influence next act of Parliament, what a country we've become
Today we are a capital city of brain-drain in exporting the best of our gifted children to every corner of the world, Swazis today are migrants in far lands, cleaning streets, old aged homes and security guards in so called first world, rendering our youths vulnerable to human trafficking, sexual immorality industries and drugs.
We interestingly have replaced RDAs with RDF (Regional Development Fund) which focuses on creating none existent millionaires in communities of hunger and poverty.
The 1986 Swaziland was undemocratic, repressive, but was possibly a brighter version of the political system, whereas the 2026 Eswatini resembles the worst of the worse political system.
The beneficiaries to this has been Royalty, few political connected local business and mainly international capital who milk the best of our natural endowment and opportunities because the security of the Monarchy is in mortgaging the future of our children.
King Mswati during his Coronation in April 1986.