His Majesty King Mswati 111 of the Kingdom of Swaziland received a warm welcome during the inauguration of South African president Jacob Zuma,at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Saturday ,despite vows made by progressives in South Africa to give His Majesty and his delegation a tough time.
In opposition to such reports,scenes of jubilation errupted from the crowds the moment the King arrived. It seemed as though His Majesty made his presence felt as over the 30 000 throngs of jovial audience gave a resounding applause which lasted for over two minutes as the monarch majestically walked the red carpet towards his seat among the SADC leaders who came in numbers to witness South Africa’s greatest historic moment,which will go down in history for years to come.
History repeated itself when Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe arrived,receiving a similar reception when he attend Swaziland’s double celebrations last year, marking the monarch’s 40th birthday and the Kingdom’s 40years of independence.
Mugabe arrived before the Swazi monarch and showed his respects as he stood to welcome him,in return the King smiled gracefully and had a few words with Mugabe before proceeding to his seat.
South African television station E-TV showed clips of the jubillant public from the moment the Swazi monarch’s arrival was announced.
Zuma’s officiation took place at about 11:20 when he took the oath of office.King Mswati was among the over twenty SADC leaders invited to witness the historic occassion,counted among SADC’s greats ,the likes of Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni,Libyan leader Moammar al-Gaddafi ,Lesotho’s King Letsie,Mozambican president Armando Guebuza and others.
Known for his great sense of style,the king was clad in a smart black suit similar to those worn by American president Barack Obama.He made a grand entrance at about 10:45 hours and notably the televison crew hailed him as one of the greatest leaders of Southern Africa.
He was among the last batch of VIPs to arrive,followed by former Deputy President of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka,who was closely follwed by the arrival of Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi. His Majesty was accompanied by Her Royal Highness advocate Inkhosikati LaMbikiza who recently returned home from attending a first ladies’ meeting which was held in the United States of America ,where first ladies from all corners of the world met to discuss diverse global issues.
Source : http://www.times.co.sz/index.php?news=7597
Images:http://www.medindia.net/afp/images/Swazi-culture-lifestyle-42254.jpg
