BY FIONA MOTSA
Independence Day also known as Somhlolo Day is a national holiday held every year on September 6. It is the holiday that celebrates Swaziland gaining its Independence from Britain in 1968. Britain had ruled over the nation since 1903.
Swaziland is the only absolute monarchy in Africa. A tiny landlocked country and the second smallest in continental Africa, Swaziland was twice its current size back in the 19th century under the leadership of king sobhuza I. Caught between the British and the Boers, the Pretoria Convention of 1881 guaranteed Swaziland’s ‘independence’ but this freedom came at a price as the convention also defined its borders, with Swaziland losing large parts of its territory.
After the Boer administration collapsed at the end of the Anglo Boer war in 1903, the British took control of Swaziland as a protectorate.
Movements towards independence gained pace in 1964 with the adoption of Swaziland’s first constitution. This was followed by a new constitution in 1967 which provided for the introduction of self-government once independence was gained.
On September 6 1968, Swaziland was granted formal independence within the Commonwealth. This national holiday is named after king Sobhuza I (Ngwane IV) who was king between 1805 and 1839 and who was nicknamed ‘Somhlolo’ (The Wonder) and is considered the founder of Swaziland.
To mark this important holiday, ceremonies take place in the Somhlolo Stadium in Lobamba, the Royal capital.
Eswatini
In April 2018, King Mswati III of Swaziland announced that he was renaming the country ‘the Kingdom of Eswatini’ the name it went by prior to British Colonialism. The Monarch announced the official change in a stadium during celebrations for the 50th anniversary of Swazi independence. The celebrations also marked the King’s 50th birthday.
