BY MBONO MDLULI
NGABEZWENI – Praying for the king is tantamount to praying for peace to reign in this country.
This was said by His Majesty King Mswati III on April 19, 2025 at Ngabezweni Royal Residence. This was during the Easter Prayer Service for male brethren.
The king said so while encouraging Christian to keep praying for the king so that the members of the public could be the ones who ultimately got peace.
His Majesty the King was responding to three different topics which different religious leaders were preaching on. The topics included spreading falsehood, which could end up killing people; praying for kings; and countries needing peace to prosper.
The topics were discussed, in form of short sermons, by Pastors Sambulo Simelane of Hlathikhulu, Musa Matsebula of Mbelebeleni, and Sitatanyiswa Dlamini of Mcengeni, respectively.
Simelane based his sermon on the book of Hosea 4:1, 2, and 3, as well as the book of Exodus 23:1 and 2. Matsebula based his sermon on the book of 1 Timothy 2:2.
Dlamini based his sermon on the book of Isaiah 11: 1 to 3.
On the topic of peace, the king pleaded with the religious leaders to continue praying for him and the entire royal family for peace to be abundant. He said it was his wish to see the country live in peace because that would be the first step for people to prosper. He said people in other countries wished for peace they once had, but could not get it. Peace is something that cannot be restored once it is gone, according to the king.
On the topic of spreading falsehood, the king said the issue of lies had always been there. What is important is for the person receiving the false information not to entertain it, according to the king. He said that could be possible if the recipient of falsehood was able to differentiate between truth and lies.
The king said falsehood was cited on many occasions in the Bible. He made an example of a story of Joseph, who refused to have sex with Potifar’s wife in ancient Egypt. The wife, filled with anger, told her husband that Joseph tried to have sex with her and Potifar put Joseph in jail, because of lies.
On the third topic, the king said it was true that any country could not prosper without peace and pleaded with all Emaswati to always strive for it.
The king thanked the pastors for singing a happy-birthday song for him, as he was also celebrating his birthday.
Bishop Samson Hlatjwako, President of the League of African Churches, thanked the king providing marquees during the service, stating that the brethren had been safe since the start of the Easter holidays. The marquees were provided in the vicinity of the National Church in Lobamba, as well as in Ludzidzini and Ngabezweni Royal Residences.
Bishop Hlatjwako further told the king that the pastors were thankful to the king for shifting the celebration of his holiday to April 25. They were impressed by the king’s gesture, which told them that he continued to put God first in everything.
Prince Simelane, who is the Royal advisor on religious matters, advised Emaswati to stick to abiding by the laws that existed in the country and the ones that existed in the Bible. By so doing, Prince Simelane said Emaswati would continue to enjoy peace in the country.
