World

Swazi anger at royal wives' trip

by flight737 | August 21, 2008 at 01:38 pm

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Suppose you are a King with 13 wives and a country of over 40% living with HIV and also a quarter of your country men living on food aid what will you do? book 9 of your wives a shopping trip to Europe and the Middle East or keep that money for ARV's for your subjects? well for King Mswati III of Swaziland the pressure from his wives were too great that he had to give in to their demands and watch the nation suffer! shame on him and his elders, this shows how some leaders think of personal interest first and give little or no thoughts about the people who made them who they are in the first place!

The march was organised by Positive Living, a non-governmental organisation for women with Aids.
Our correspondent says there was a cross-section of women on the march from professionals to rural representatives.
"We need to keep that money for ARVs [anti-retrovirals]," was another slogan shouted by the women.
King Mswati III, 40, has been criticised in the past for requesting public money to pay for new palaces, a personal jet and luxury cars.
News of his wives' trip broke in the local press a day after they left, our reporter says.
Earlier this week, senior princes warned the women not to march, saying it defied Swazi tradition

Source: news.bbc.co.uk