Prince Sozisa Dlamini
Encyclopedia
Prince
Sozisa Dlamini of Swaziland
(born c. 1912, died 1992), was Chief
of Gundvwini. He became the Authorized Person of Swaziland from 1982 to 1985 after the death of King Sobhuza II
, and in 1983 was briefly the acting Regent of the country, after he deposed Queen Dzeliwe
. From 1983 he was Authorized Person to the new Queen Regent, Ntombi
, with greater powers. Although lacking the title, he was for most purposes the de facto ruler of the country. He fell from power in July 1984, after being accused of planning a coup
, and was suspended as Authorized Person until Queen Ntombi terminated his appointment on 1 November 1985.
Prince Sozisa, who was already Senior Prince of the Swazi Nation, played a leading role in the negotiations which led to independence from the United Kingdom
in 1968. For many years he was one of King Sobhuza II
's closest advisers and a significant figure in the country.
Following the death of King Sobhuza in August 1982, Prince Sozisa Dlamini held the powerful office of 'Authorised Person', the leading role among the Elders of the Nation, having been designated as such by the king before he died.
At the time, there was no certainty about who would inherit the throne, and Sobhuza's widow Queen Dzeliwe
was chosen by a secret tribal process to assume the regency
. At the same time Prince Sozisa was announced as the Queen's principal advisor, when The Times
described him as "an elderly and hitherto obscure relative of the late king who bears the delightful title of the Authorized Person". A senior member of the Liqoqo, a supreme council of tribal elders, in practice Sozisa was believed to be in charge of the Swazi government, although nominally Mabandla Dlamini
was Prime Minister. At the beginning of 1983, Sozisa was still the Queen's advisor, although reported to be "in poor health". On 20 March 1983, Sozisa chaired a press conference at the main royal kraal
at Lobamba
, supported by the cabinet ministers Polycarp Dlamini, Richard Dlamini, and Prince Gabneni, and announced that Mabandla Dlamini had been dismissed as Prime Minister. The next day, Mabandla went to his office as usual, claiming that the Queen had not yet informed him. It was later uncertain that she had approved a change of prime minister, but a week later, Mabandla had been replaced by Bhekimpi Dlamini
, another member of the royal house. The key to the change was thought to be that Bkekimpe was more receptive to a South Africa
n proposal to transfer to Swaziland most of the homeland
of KaNgwane
, an area of some 3000 square miles (7,770 km²) with a notional population of 800,000, including a length of coast on the Indian Ocean
.
In July 1983 there was an announcement of elections planned for October. At that time, the country was said to be under the control of the Liqoqo.
On 9 August 1983, Queen Dzeliwe was dismissed as Regent and placed under house arrest. A notice of her dismissal, signed by Prince Sozisa, appeared in the Government Gazette the same day. Sozisa was briefly in charge, from 9 August until 18 August, while Ntombi
was chosen as the new Queen Regent. Her fourteen year-old son Mswati
emerged from the power struggle as Crown Prince
, and in 1986 he was crowned King as Mswati III. One of Ntombi's first acts as regent was to give delegated powers to the Authorized Person, who was still Sozisa, to sign state documents making decisions on a number of matters of national importance. This change had been demanded by the 'Tibiyo' faction. Subsequently, the constitution was revised to provide that where the Regent and the Authorised Person were not in agreement on any matter, it must be referred to the princes and the chiefs.
On 13 September 1983, Sozisa made a speech in which he condemned the Soviet Union
, and on 12 October three of his political opponents were charged with sedition
.
in June. He was later reported to have gone into hiding in Siteki
, under heavy guard. The official announcement of the termination of Sozisa's appointment as Authorized Person was not published until a year later. After this, he fell out of the news. He was reported to have died in 1992.
Sozisa continued as Chief of Gundvwini until his death, when he was succeeded as acting Chief by his brother Prince Tfohlongwane Dlamini, who remained in the post until 2001, when he became chairman of the Swaziland National Council Standing Committee. In that year, Prince Mangaliso Dlamini became Chief of Gundvwini.
Prince
Prince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
Sozisa Dlamini of Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
(born c. 1912, died 1992), was Chief
Tribal chief
A tribal chief is the leader of a tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies with social stratification under a single leader emerged in the Neolithic period out of earlier tribal structures with little stratification, and they remained prevalent throughout the Iron Age.In the case of ...
of Gundvwini. He became the Authorized Person of Swaziland from 1982 to 1985 after the death of King Sobhuza II
Sobhuza II of Swaziland
Ngwenyama Sobhuza II was the Paramount Chief and later King of Swaziland. He was the son of Ngwane V.-Biography:...
, and in 1983 was briefly the acting Regent of the country, after he deposed Queen Dzeliwe
Dzeliwe of Swaziland
Inkhosikati LaShongwe, , was Queen Regent of Swaziland between 21 September 1982 and 9 August 1983.She was a wife of king Sobhuza II of Swaziland, and with him had one child, Prince Khuzulwandie Dlamini....
. From 1983 he was Authorized Person to the new Queen Regent, Ntombi
Ntombi of Swaziland
Ntombi, Indlovukazi of Swaziland , has been the Indlovukazi and Joint Head of State of Swaziland since 1986. She was also regent of Swaziland from 1983 to 1986. She was born Ntombi laTwala...
, with greater powers. Although lacking the title, he was for most purposes the de facto ruler of the country. He fell from power in July 1984, after being accused of planning a coup
Coup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, and was suspended as Authorized Person until Queen Ntombi terminated his appointment on 1 November 1985.
Life
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in 1968. For many years he was one of King Sobhuza II
Sobhuza II of Swaziland
Ngwenyama Sobhuza II was the Paramount Chief and later King of Swaziland. He was the son of Ngwane V.-Biography:...
's closest advisers and a significant figure in the country.
Following the death of King Sobhuza in August 1982, Prince Sozisa Dlamini held the powerful office of 'Authorised Person', the leading role among the Elders of the Nation, having been designated as such by the king before he died.
At the time, there was no certainty about who would inherit the throne, and Sobhuza's widow Queen Dzeliwe
Dzeliwe of Swaziland
Inkhosikati LaShongwe, , was Queen Regent of Swaziland between 21 September 1982 and 9 August 1983.She was a wife of king Sobhuza II of Swaziland, and with him had one child, Prince Khuzulwandie Dlamini....
was chosen by a secret tribal process to assume the regency
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
. At the same time Prince Sozisa was announced as the Queen's principal advisor, when The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
described him as "an elderly and hitherto obscure relative of the late king who bears the delightful title of the Authorized Person". A senior member of the Liqoqo, a supreme council of tribal elders, in practice Sozisa was believed to be in charge of the Swazi government, although nominally Mabandla Dlamini
Mabandla Dlamini
Prince Mabandla Ndawombili Fred Dlamini was Prime Minister of Swaziland from 23 November 1979 to 25 March 1983.- References :...
was Prime Minister. At the beginning of 1983, Sozisa was still the Queen's advisor, although reported to be "in poor health". On 20 March 1983, Sozisa chaired a press conference at the main royal kraal
Kraal
Kraal is an Afrikaans and Dutch word for an enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within an African settlement or village surrounded by a palisade, mud wall, or other fencing, roughly circular in form.In the Dutch language a kraal is a term derived from the Portuguese word , cognate...
at Lobamba
Lobamba
Lobamba is the traditional and legislative capital of Swaziland, seat of the Parliament and residence of the Queen Mother. It is located in the west of the country, in the Ezulwini valley, 16 km from Mbabane, in the district of Hhohho...
, supported by the cabinet ministers Polycarp Dlamini, Richard Dlamini, and Prince Gabneni, and announced that Mabandla Dlamini had been dismissed as Prime Minister. The next day, Mabandla went to his office as usual, claiming that the Queen had not yet informed him. It was later uncertain that she had approved a change of prime minister, but a week later, Mabandla had been replaced by Bhekimpi Dlamini
Bhekimpi Dlamini
Prince Bhekimpi Alpheus Dlamini was Prime Minister of Swaziland from 25 March 1983 to 6 October 1986.Dlamani was a Swazi politician known to be pro-South African and traditionalist...
, another member of the royal house. The key to the change was thought to be that Bkekimpe was more receptive to a South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n proposal to transfer to Swaziland most of the homeland
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
of KaNgwane
KaNgwane
KaNgwane was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government to be a semi-independent homeland for the Swazi people. Formerly called the "Swazi Territory", the homeland was granted nominal self-rule in 1981. Schoemansdal was designated as its capital. Its official capital was at...
, an area of some 3000 square miles (7,770 km²) with a notional population of 800,000, including a length of coast on the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
In July 1983 there was an announcement of elections planned for October. At that time, the country was said to be under the control of the Liqoqo.
On 9 August 1983, Queen Dzeliwe was dismissed as Regent and placed under house arrest. A notice of her dismissal, signed by Prince Sozisa, appeared in the Government Gazette the same day. Sozisa was briefly in charge, from 9 August until 18 August, while Ntombi
Ntombi of Swaziland
Ntombi, Indlovukazi of Swaziland , has been the Indlovukazi and Joint Head of State of Swaziland since 1986. She was also regent of Swaziland from 1983 to 1986. She was born Ntombi laTwala...
was chosen as the new Queen Regent. Her fourteen year-old son Mswati
Mswati III of Swaziland
Mswati III is the King of Swaziland and head of the Swazi Royal Family. In 1986, he succeeded his father Sobhuza II as ruler of the southern African kingdom...
emerged from the power struggle as Crown Prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
, and in 1986 he was crowned King as Mswati III. One of Ntombi's first acts as regent was to give delegated powers to the Authorized Person, who was still Sozisa, to sign state documents making decisions on a number of matters of national importance. This change had been demanded by the 'Tibiyo' faction. Subsequently, the constitution was revised to provide that where the Regent and the Authorised Person were not in agreement on any matter, it must be referred to the princes and the chiefs.
On 13 September 1983, Sozisa made a speech in which he condemned the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and on 12 October three of his political opponents were charged with sedition
Sedition
In law, sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority to tend toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any...
.
Fall from power
At the beginning of July 1984, the Swazi Observer reported that Sozisa, although chairman of the Liqoqo, was no longer attending its meetings. At about the same time, his police and military escorts ceased to guard him. Sozisa continued as the Authorized Person until the end of August 1984, when the Liqoqo suspended him, amid allegations that he had attempted a coup d'étatCoup d'état
A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
in June. He was later reported to have gone into hiding in Siteki
Siteki
Siteki is a town in eastern Swaziland, lying west of the Lebombo Mountains. It is named for a declaration of Mbandzeni permitting his troops to marry....
, under heavy guard. The official announcement of the termination of Sozisa's appointment as Authorized Person was not published until a year later. After this, he fell out of the news. He was reported to have died in 1992.
Sozisa continued as Chief of Gundvwini until his death, when he was succeeded as acting Chief by his brother Prince Tfohlongwane Dlamini, who remained in the post until 2001, when he became chairman of the Swaziland National Council Standing Committee. In that year, Prince Mangaliso Dlamini became Chief of Gundvwini.