KINGDOM OF ESWATINI CHANGE NOW OFFICIAL
MBABANE – It is now official. The name change of the country to Kingdom of Eswatini has been gazetted. The gazette was signed by His Majesty King Mswati III, and is titled ‘Legal Notice No.80 of 2018’.
Although the gazette was recently published, it states that the notice shall be deemed to have come into force on April 19, 2018, the day the King announced the name change.
The gazette further states that reference in any written law or international agreement or legal document to Swaziland shall be read and construed as reference to Eswatini.
His Majesty announced the name change during the 50/50 Doubble jubilee celebration which was held at Mavuso Trade Centre. The country was celebrating the King’s 50th birthday and also commemorated 50 years of independence.
When the King declared the new name for the country, he said that the name change was a sign that the country was reasserting its own identity.
In his speech when he made the announcement, the King said, “As we are aware, the name Swaziland was inherited from the British.
“If we are to give true meaning to our independence, time has come to give our country a name of its people. It must be said that this process is long overdue, particularly if you consider how other countries in the region localised their names soon after independence.”
He said the nation was now Emaswati and further announced, “Therefore, I have the pleasure to present to you, on this historic day, a new name for the kingdom. Our country will now be called Kingdom of Eswatini”.
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