Swaziland renamed "eSwatini" by its absolute monarch

[Breanainn]

The Kingdom of Swaziland isn't exactly to the forefront of African politics, let alone global current affairs, but King Mswati III is notorious as one of the last remaining absolute monarchs, with multiple wives, crushing any political opposition to his autocratic rule, and violating numerous articles of human rights. Now, the King has decreed that the country should change its name, declaring it to be the"Kingdom of eSwatini":

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-africa-43821512?__twitter_impression=true

 

[Strawberry]

Ah well. As long as Leo doesn't go mad and rename Ireland something weird we're fine.

 

[Cellachán Chaisil]

Of all things one could object to about the Kingdom, I think this is least.

 

[Dame_Enda]

Sounds techy.

 

[General Urko]

Let's give him tons of aid to celebrate - Yahoo!

I see also the bossman of one of our aid favoured countries, Museveni in Uganda is warning us of the evils of oral sex and wants to ban it -

Uganda's President Wants to Ban Oral Sex, Says the "Mouth is for Eating"

Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni says he wants to ban oral sex | Daily Mail Online

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6087942/ugandan-president-yoweri-museveni-ban-oral-sex/

In fairness Museveni though he strongly disapproves of homosexual acts, he did intervene to stop Uganda making homosexual acts capital offences, which back in the far distant day they were in Britain and Ireland!

 

[Bill]

What a dick, now everyone is going to have to buy a new atlas.

 

[Sotired]

In the year of their 50th anniversary of independence from South Africa.

A bit of healthy national birthday competition for the israel is 70 today thread.

But probably not a like-for-like comparison.

 

[gleeful]

Sure we already have eStonia

 

[General Urko]

It's reverting to its actual name prior to The British Imperialists coming in to enslave, rob and steal as much as they could!

 

[mr_anderson]

The Kingdom of Swaziland isn't exactly to the forefront of African politics, let alone global current affairs, but King Mswati III is notorious as one of the last remaining absolute monarchs, with multiple wives, crushing any political opposition to his autocratic rule, and violating numerous articles of human rights. Now, the King has decreed that the country should change its name, declaring it to be the"Kingdom of eSwatini":

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/world-africa-43821512?__twitter_impression=true

I'm more surprised he didn't choose 'Mswatiland'.

 

[Dame_Enda]

Is this about attracting Apple, Twitter etc? The "e' thing.

 

[midlander12]

Isn't there a big Irish aid outfit there, or is that Lesotho? Obviously human rights and corporate governance issues are high on the 'aid' agenda.

 

[nationalsday]

125 wives!!! That geezer is shaping himself up for the mother of all divorce-rapes

From kingly palace to sleeping in the back of the Hi-Ace methinks..

 

[milipod]

I don't give eFúck.

 

[Dame_Enda]

125 wives!!! That geezer is shaping himself up for the mother of all divorce-rapes

From kingly palace to sleeping in the back of the Hi-Ace methinks..

He has little to worry about as he's an absolute monarch. He is the State and it might not be legal to divorce him.

 

[recedite]

I'm more surprised he didn't choose 'Mswatiland'.

I'm not an expert in Kswati language, but I'm guessing the "M" in Mswati means "king".
Anyway IMO its entirely reasonable, and I'm surprised they didn't change it decades ago.

The new name, eSwatini, means "land of the Swazis". The change was unexpected, but King Mswati has been referring to Swaziland for years as eSwatini.
It was the name the king used when he addressed the UN general assembly in 2017 and at the state opening of the country's parliament in 2014.
He explained that the name had caused some confusion, saying: "Whenever we go abroad, people refer to us as Switzerland."

Why would they want to keep the old colonial name anyway?
Just because Cecil Rhodes rode across the river one day on a horse, with a private army, and said "Right I'm having all this land and I'm calling it Rhodesia because I'm the boss of it. You guys can have that field over there, and I'm calling that Swaziland, because you locals call yourselves Swazis, or Swatis, or whatever it is."
Could have been worse I suppose, it could have been named Fuzzysland instead.

 

[recedite]

125 wives!!! That geezer is shaping himself up ....

One of the wives needs to tell him politely that he hasn't got the figure for those leopardskin Y-fronts he's wearing for the photo.

 

[Strawberry]

One of the wives needs to tell him politely that he hasn't got the figure for those leopardskin Y-fronts he's wearing for the photo.

Apparently he only has 15 wives, it was his father who had 125 of them.

 

[recedite]

Apparently he only has 15 wives, it was his father who had 125 of them.

That was before TV and internet though. The modern monarch has so many extra demands on his time.
His father must have been a lot thinner, keeping up with the extra 110 wives, so quite entitled to wear the royal Y-fronts.

 

[automaticforthepeople]

Isn't there a big Irish aid outfit there, or is that Lesotho? Obviously human rights and corporate governance issues are high on the 'aid' agenda.

Lesotho benefited from Irish help during the apartheid era when Garret Fitzgerald targeted Irish aid to one poor frontline state. Ireland was one of the few European states with an embassy there and used to be quite busy providing consular assistance to many EU citizens.

Sadly Eamon Gimore closed down the embassy and the lynch mob who whinged about the closure of our embassy in one small country, Vatican City cared little for a country where HIV AIDS is rampant and childhood mortality is sky high.
As we are finding out now, they're only interested in children before they are born, they lose interest in everyone once the thrill of control over the woman is over.