A quite bizarre king... Travel in Mbabane, Swaziland

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The head of state is the king. Since 1986, King Mswati III reigns which succeeded King Sobhuza II, who died in 1982. According to tradition the king reigns along with his mother, the Indlovukazi, namely Elefantessa. The first is seen as the administrative head of state while the second is seen as a spiritual leader of the nation. The king not only appoints the prime minister, head of the government, but also a small number of representatives of Libandla the two chambers of the parliament. The Senate consists of 30 members while the House of counts 65 members, 55 of which are elected every five years. With all this power in the hands of the king, despite the presence of a democratically elected parliament, Swaziland is technically an absolute monarchy.
Mswati III has often been criticized for its leisure lifestyle in a nation stricken by the levels of HIV infection highest in the world. Its collection of luxury cars and millions spent to finance the luxurious homes of his many wives contrast with the unemployment rate at 34% and with the knowledge of poverty by 70% of the population living on less than one dollar a day. Swaziland is one of the poorest nations in the world and has a human development index very low.
King Mswati has seized the occasion of the celebration of his 33rd birthday to prohibit young women to have sex before marriage, wear trousers and even shake hands with men. The ban imposed in 2001 with adolescents in the country was then suspended in 2005. With large tassels that were forced to carry and which have been burned in the square, went to smoke is also an attempt (bizarre) to curb the highest rate in the world of the sick from AIDS.