By Zweli Martin Dlamini

King Mswati stood before a large crowd dominated by alleged corrupt political thieves on Saturday at Lozitha Palace- Mandvulo Hall, urging his loyalists holding positions of significant trust to uphold integrity and stop engaging in corruption.

The King’s speech was spot on, I choose to call his ‘sermon’ a speech because I don’t regard him as a legitimate Pastor or the ‘Bishop of Bishops’ as Queen Mother nicknamed him.

If Mswati could walk straight from “eNhlambelweni” to the pulpit and preach, then Christians including Queen Mother Ntombi Tfwala must stop criticizing tinyanga when preaching, tinyanga must also be allowed to walk from ‘eNdumbeni’ and preach without any religious discrimination just like the ‘Bishop of Bishops’ who is fresh from “eNhlambelweni”.

The King has his own mistakes and weaknesses as a human being but on Saturday, he spoke about a very important issue, corruption undermines social and economic development and has collapsed State institutions including the country’s health system.

But it is important to bring to the attention of the King that, fighting corruption must start right inside his conscience, he must stop stealing public funds and then encourage his children, brothers, sisters and those around him to do the same, the Monarchy is infested with corruption fueled by a culture of impunity.

Mswati’s speech was so powerful such that, if he can repent and stop stealing public funds, take decisive action against his corrupt loyalists, this country could be a better place.

But the most unfortunate part is that, hypocrisy rules in this country, even the King is corrupt, you cannot steal public funds as a Head of State and then tell your loyalists not to steal, the people next to the King regard him as a role model and they want to be like him, if he steals they will steal.

Indeed, they imitate almost everything about him such that, others who are not even related to the royal family, when wearing a traditional attire, walk like him, talk like him and those who are creative, imitates even the King’s laughter.

So it’s not difficult to change the culture of corruption within royalty and corridors of power, the King must just stop stealing public funds, his corrupt thieves will do the same.

The King is an absolute Monarch with all the powers to direct law enforcement institutions to arrest corrupt individuals, and therefore, if we see powerful people next to him stealing public funds and then dine with him, who else can we blame?.

But there’s always a starting point, maybe the King is now tired of corruption and wants to remove the alleged thieves around him, let’s wait and see and give him all the necessary support including exposing the corrupt.

But as mentioned, corruption cannot be eradicated by mere ‘preaching’, these thieves around the King long lost conscience and they can do anything to accumulate more wealth, if an opportunity could presents itself, they can even fry the King alive as long as there’s money involved.

So the King must be very worried because the culture of corruption long isolated him, a majority of his ‘loyalists’ are corrupt to the core and they are beginning to be loyal to money, serving him just to secure powerful strategic positions so that they can steal.