Swaziland Changes its Name Back to eSwatini as it Marks 50 Years Since the British Protectorate Ended

Analysis. From GIS/Defense & Foreign Affairs Correspondent, Mbabane. King Mswati III, on April 19, 2018, speaking in the second city of the nation, Manzini, to mark the country’s half-century since the departure of British protectorate rule, announced that the country would change its name from Swaziland to eSwatini, meaning “place of the Swazi”, the country’s original name (Swaziland was a mix of Swazi and English). The country would henceforth be known as the Kingdom of eSwatini.

King Mswati III had, on April 17, 2018, hosted the President of the Republic of China (ROC: Taiwan), Pres. Tsai Ing-wen, who was there to help the Swazi people celebrate their 50/50 commemoration of the half-century since the departure of the United Kingdom as an occupying protectorate power.

Pres. Tsai signed a joint communiqué with the King at their meeting, held shortly after she arrived in the country for a four-day, three-night visit, before attending a State dinner. In the joint communiqué, the King expressed the country’s firm support for Taiwan's participation in the United Nations, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the International Criminal Police Organization. Also during their meeting, Pres. Tsai presented the King with gifts from one of Taiwan’s indigenous tribes, as well as five cows, which represent wealth in the southern African kingdom and were a traditional ceremonial gift. The visit also commemorated 50 years of Swazi-ROC diplomatic ties. King Mswati accepted an invitation to visit the ROC in June 2018.

King Mswati III on March 24, 2018, promoted Maj.-Gen. Mashikilisane Moses Fakudze to the rank of lieutenant-general, joining three other three-star generals in the Defence Force: Jeffrey S. Tshabalala (Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff), Thembeni Magongo, and Lenford S. Dlamini. The King also promoted four brigadier-generals to two-star: Manzumvula Mamba, Shayilanga Kunene (Army Secretary), Collen L. Lasco, and Thembinkosi N. Mngomezulu.

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