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The South African High Commission in Swaziland has denied media reports that Prince Maguga Dlamini, blamed for recent political turmoil in the kingdom, was granted political asylum by the South African government. First Secretary in the embassy, Thando Dalamba, was quoted as saying that Dlamini had never applied to the commission for asylum. “”We have not received anything from the prince, neither has the Pretoria office,” Dalamba said.
There are reports that Maguga has moved to Ngwavuma in KwaZulu-Natal. He became unpopular after his younger brother and absolute monarch King Mswati III made him chief of two areas. The existing chiefs were forced to flee to South Africa and some 200 subjects were evicted, prompting nationwide strikes led by banned political parties and the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions against the monarchy’s excesses. Political parties were banned by royal decree in 1973.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions