Times Of Swaziland: SCULPTURES ISSUE DISTORTED TO RUIN MY LIFE - PASTOR BUDDY SCULPTURES ISSUE DISTORTED TO RUIN MY LIFE - PASTOR BUDDY ================================================================================ Timothy Simelane on 13/02/2025 09:46:00 MBABANE – Pastor Buddy Msibi says he has been a target of malicious individuals who deliberately tarnished his name to royalty and attempted to swindle him by peddling falsehoods. Msibi (55) is the man who built a mansion at Satellite (Ezulwini) along the Mbabane-Manzini Highway. He said certain people concocted a false story that he had puffed himself up and irked royalty by erecting sculptures of a lion and elephant at his gate. Msibi said he was fined five cattle for this, but has no idea where the cattle were taken to. He insists that he paid the cows because he was under pressure from the royal kraal. Msibi said he had only made the sculptures to remind him of the King and Queen Mother who are so dear to him. He said his relationship with the King was still intact, though some people want to tarnish his image at all costs. Palace “I once went to give the King first fruits of all that I had harvested, at Manzana Palace. When he saw what I had done and was pleased, he personally read a scripture to me and pronounced a blessing upon me. From that day onwards I prospered. My business grew and I was able to clinch deals in China, Egypt, United Kingdom and other parts of the world,” he said. He said while his business thrived, he also drew inspiration from the King and Queen Mother and gave gifts to them. Msibi said ever since the objection to his sculptures was made, his businesses did not perform well. The pastor said all that he wants to do now is to get an opportunity to meet the King and ask for more blessings, with the opportunity of stating his side of the story. “I cannot afford to sit while there is misinformation going viral on social media about me, as my father also warned me strictly to always respect royalty. He also said though his business was not performing well, he had not stopped being a bread winner at his home. “It’s not true that I am being maintained by my wife. The fact of the matter is that my wife looks after me through marital duties such as cooking for me,” he said. He also said the people intent on blocking his development are fuelled by a certain clique that robbed him of another piece of land that the chief had given to him. Issue “They sold the land to another person behind my back and when I questioned such actions, they raised the issue of my sculptures, saying it had tainted me,” he added. Director of Information at the King’s Office Percy Simelane said: “To the best of our knowledge, if a person is made to pay cattle after losing a case at chiefdom level or kraal, the chief, as custodian does not necessarily have to report back to the person who paid the beasts how he presented them to the principal. So the buck stops with the chief who, traditionally is the custodian of the king’s cattle however they are paid by the community.”