What follows here is the Mail & Guardian Online’s April Fool’s Day story, published on April 1 2005. It is, of course, not true.
In an internationally condemned move, an enraged King Mswati III of Swaziland has decided to close his country’s borders with South Africa.
The shock announcement followed severe criticism by the South African government over the king’s latest extravagant expenditure: the purchase of R32,5-million-worth of sports cars for his wives.
The measure took effect on Friday morning.
“The king is very upset with the South African government. He believes that closing the borders is the only logical step since South Africa is now interfering with Swaziland’s affairs,” a spokesperson to Swaziland’s Department of Foreign Affairs told the Mail & Guardian Online on Thursday.
South African tourists who want to travel to Swaziland will now have to purchase a visa for R300. Import and export operations between the two countries are set to come to a standstill.
The United Nations fears that the closing of the borders will lead to famine in the poor, land-locked and drought-hit Swaziland, as food prices will rise and most of its citizens will not be able to afford daily necessities.
The backdrop of this diplomatic disaster is the extravagant lifestyle of the 36-year-old king.
“On Tuesday, we received an alarming phone call from a Lamborghini dealer in Johannesburg,” a spokesperson of South African President Thabo Mbeki told the M&G Online on Thursday.
“He told us that King Mswati has ordered 13 Lamborghini Gallardos. These are to be given to his wives and fiancées on the king’s birthday, late in April.”
One Lamborghini Gallardo costs R2,5-million. The order King Mswati III has placed with the Johannesburg dealer is worth R32,5-million.
“This is absurd,” the president’s spokesperson said. “Swaziland is a very poor country. Almost 70% of one million people live on an average daily income of $1 or less.”
“For President Mbeki it was difficult to decide whether to reprimand King Mswati. But since this is the second purchase of extravagant cars for his wives in almost two months, he decided to call for a meeting with Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Foreign Affairs,” he said.
“The outcome of this meeting was that the president would send a letter to King Mswati in which this purchase was condemned as highly immoral,” the spokesperson said.
This letter was sent on Wednesday. Late on Thursday, sources informed the M&G Online of the king’s far-reaching response.
On Valentine’s Day this year, King Mswati bought 10 new BMW Series 5 cars for his official wives. He spent more than R5,1-million on these gifts of love.
In December, he bought a R3,1-million Maybach with DVD player and surround-sound system for himself.
Despite the furore that has ensued, the wives of King Mswati do not seem to think that the latest gifts are extravagant.
“I have only been driven in my BMW once,” one of the king’s wives told the M&G Online. “My sisters and other staff in the palace use it all the time. I think I deserve my own car and it is good that it is an expensive one, so we are differentiated from other people when we go to Mbabane for shopping.”
The closing of Swaziland’s borders took effect on April 1 at 6am. It is not known for how long the measure will be in place.