Queen Mother troubled by persistent killings

LOBAMBA – Her Majesty the Queen Mother has registered her concern over the continued killings in the country.

The Queen Mother registered her concern when bidding farewell to church leaders at /ud]id]ini 5oyal 5esidence yesterday.

She urged pastors to preach the truth so that it could spread to everyone in the country. The Queen Mother said she believed that once the truth reached everyone, they would realise that killing each other would never be the solution.

She also reminded men about the siS wati saying, ‘indvuku ayiwakhi umuti’, adding that killing someone was not the solution.

³If you are married to a talkative man, pray so that *od can persuade him to drop the weapon and his evil plans. If your husband is angry and accuses you for nothing, keep Tuiet and try to calm him down as opposed to arguing,” she said. The Queen Mother also advised men who are married to talkative women to avoid arguments in order to circumvent temptations that would cause them trouble.

On another note, the Queen Mother prayed for long life over pastors and all emaSwati. She said nobody was old enough to die.

³I always tell *od that I am not ready to leave this world as I still have a lot to do. I believe I am still young and capa ble, even though I walk with an aid of a stick. I used to hear that some elderly lived longer, so much that they couldn’t walk. I pray that *od takes us back to those days, so that we can live longer. Some women lived until they had bald heads,” she said, to the laughter of the church leaders.

She said it was pleasing to hear that someone was still alive even if not pres ent. The Queen Mother also thanked the church leaders for lidziya, which amounted to ( . Lidziya is a kind of offering made to the Queen Mother by church leaders when bidding fare well to the authorities.

The Queen Mother thanked Madayisi 'acosta and his family, who presented a goat and chicken as well as fruits. Pastors from the 5oyal (swatini Sugar &orporation presented sugar to the Queen Mother while 5everend Mnisi presented fruit trees.

Pastor Moses :arren and Pastor /ukhele also handed over their gifts to the Queen Mother.

The church leaders were also given calendars to look for dates of the next (aster services.