A concerned mother took southern Africa’s last absolute monarch, King Mswati III of Swaziland, to court this week, challenging the selection of her daughter as his bride.
Lindiwe Dlamini told the Mbabane High Court on Tuesday her daughter, Zena Soraya Mahlangu (18) was abducted by two men employed by the king of Swaziland, a small kingdom landlocked between South Africa and Mozambique.
She demanded the immediate return of Mahlangu into her custody, saying the king could not be party to the abduction of a child without the mother’s consent. ”The continued detention of Zena without my consent is a criminal offence,” she said in papers before the court.
Dlamini said the two men approached her daughter’s paternal grandmother on September 22, saying the king had asked them to take Mahlangu to the royal kraal for the performance of royal duties. Her daughter went missing from school a few days later and she was told that one of the king’s employees took her away to an unknown place.
Dlamini, the communications manager of Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications, expressed concern about Mahlangu’s schoolwork, saying the whole year would be wasted if she was not allowed to write her A-level year-end exams.
”My right to custody of my child will have been unlawfully infringed; and Zenas rights to liberty, privacy and protection from abuse will have been breached,” she said.
A representative for the royal family, Ntfonjeni Dlamini, said on Wednesday that three young maidens were being held at one of the king’s palaces.
”I know where Ayanda Noliqwa Ntentesa, Sonto Sandra Dlamini and Zena Soraya Mahlangu are kept and the worried parents should have contacted me before going to court as I knew even before they were taken by royal messengers that they were needed for royal duties,” Ntfonjeni said.
He said he could not disclose where the trio was being held since it was an issue ”that concerns the royal family and not the media”.
The high court will hear arguments on the matter next week. – Sapa-AFP