Libyan leader Moammar Gadaffi, who is on a roadshow to drum up support in southern Africa, spent Saturday with Swaziland’s King Mswati III hunting and watching a traditional reed dance.
Gadaffi shot an impala during the private hunting trip, officials said.
The reed dance, staged at a royal residence near the capital Mbabane, was performed by about 2 000 married women. The dance is usually performed by unmarried women every few years for the king, who selects one of them to be his bride.
Several hundred Swazis turned out to greet Gadaffi at the royal residence and gave him a tumultuous welcome. No details of discussions held between the two leaders were made public.
The flamboyant Libyan leader drove to Swaziland in a convoy of dozens of armoured luxury vehicles from neighbouring South Africa where he had been attending the launch of the African Union.
His entourage has booked out an entire 202 room hotel in the tiny kingdom, and his convoy has frequently brought traffic to a standstill.
Gadaffi seeks a greater leadership role in the continent and at the African Union summit jockeyed for position alongside South African President Thabo Mbeki for power in the new regional organisation.
Gadaffi is due to travel to Mozambique on Sunday.
Swaziland, a poor southern African nation of one million people, is one of the world’s last absolute monarchies. – Sapa-AP