Otumfuo Eyes Eswatini Visit Again

THE ASANTEHENE, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, will visit Eswatini, located in the southern part of the African continent again on a date yet to be announced.

The Asante king was in Eswatini in 2015, which was 10 years ago, but after witnessing the rich Asante culture, King Mswati III of Eswatini, said Otumfuo should visit his country again.

“After witnessing the rich Asante culture and traditions, and the warm reception that has been accorded to me and my delegation, I’m also inviting Otumfuo to attend a national festival in Eswatini”.

The visiting king from Eswatini, who is on a four-day working tour in Ghana, however did not state the exact date that the Asantehene would make the historic trip to his kingdom.

Speaking as a guest of honour at a durbar of chiefs and people of Asanteman in the Manhyia Palace on Thursday, King Mswati III praised the Asantehene and his people for preserving their culture.

According to him, he had visited and toured the Manhyia Palace Musuem in Kumasi, and what he witnessed there clearly showed that Asantes were determined to preserve their culture.

King Mswati therefore charged African traditional leaders to also play their parts to document their rich traditions and culture which were left for them by their forebears for future generations.

In this global world, the visiting king cautioned, if Africans don’t strategically protect and preserve their culture and traditions, which portrays the people that they are, it would be lost forever.

King Mswati IIII also proposed that African traditional leaders should properly use their traditions, culture and festivals to boost tourism in their various countries to help improve their economies.

According to him, Eswatini has been relying on tourism to generate funds to boost their economy and its has been working perfectly for them so far, urging other African chiefs to learn from them.

The Asantehene, in a speech read on his behalf, stated that Asante and Eswatini should work to deepen their social, cultural and economic relations to help improve the lives of their people.