{"id":1927,"date":"2019-05-16T04:36:26","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T01:36:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africaglobalnews.com\/?p=1927"},"modified":"2019-05-16T04:36:26","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T01:36:26","slug":"no-king-mswati-iii-has-not-made-polygamy-compulsory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africaglobalnews.com\/website_b1ce9d46\/no-king-mswati-iii-has-not-made-polygamy-compulsory\/","title":{"rendered":"No, King Mswati III has not made polygamy compulsory"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

King Mswati III has not issued\na decree compelling men to enter into polygamous unions, the government of\neSwatini has clarified. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government was forced to\nmake the odd clarification following online reports that trended on Monday,\nalleging that the king, who himself has 14 wives and more than 25 children, had\nordered Swazi men to marry multiple wives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sensational claim, which\nhas since been linked to the Zambian Observer, stated<\/a> in\npart that King Mswati III had declared that \u201cmen will from June 2019 be\nrequired to marry at least two or more wives or be jailed if they fail to do\nso.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To further incentivize\npolygamy, the government of eSwatini had allegedly also promised to facilitate\nthe marriage ceremonies and provide houses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In responding to the article,\nthe eSwatini spokesman, Percy Simelane, had this to say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHis majesty has not made any pronouncement to that effect as it has never been an issue raised by Emaswati. We will continue to appeal for morality, responsible behavior and professionalism among journalist and the general public with access to social media.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"King
King Mswati III<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mr. Simelane also further\ndescribed the article as an insult to the monarchy and a disgrace to\njournalism.  He also demanded that the\nnewspaper retract its story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the original article\ndoesn\u2019t seem to be available on the Zambian Observer, the news site may have\ncomplied with that demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Old Hoax<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

eSwatini, formerly Swaziland, isn\u2019t the first country to be the subject of the hoax in recent times. In 2016, Kenyan men were apparently all ready to go to Eritrea, which was allegedly facing a shortage of men. Men would thus be required to take at least two wives, with punishment meted out to those who refused. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n