ESWATINI’S DICTATOR DEMANDS SOUTH AFRICA RETURN MPUMALANGA AND PARTS OF KWAZULU-NATAL
King Mswati III, Africa’s last absolute monarch, has once again demanded the return of territory currently forming part of South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province and sections of northern KwaZulu-Natal, arguing that the land rightfully belongs to the Kingdom of Eswatini and citing historical claims and a United Nations resolution.
Pretoria does not recognise the claim and continues to regard the territories as an inseparable part of South Africa. The internationally recognised borders between the two countries remain unchanged.
The renewed demand raises difficult questions for a monarch who has often aligned himself with Western and American interests while ruling one of the continent’s few remaining absolute monarchies.
Should this dispute ever move beyond rhetoric, King Mswati may discover that Africa’s support is not guaranteed. Few governments on the continent are likely to back border revisions that could reopen historical territorial disputes across Africa and threaten regional stability.
For now, the claim remains a political statement rather than an active legal or diplomatic process due to lack of power.