King Mswati III of Eswatini or Swaziland.
Credit: Instagram/@maswati_the_king
A resurfacing video on Instagram of Swaziland's King Mswati III's arrival at Abu Dhabi airport accompanied with 15 wives and 100 servants has sparked outrage online.
The video showcased the King dressed in a traditional attire and as his multiple wives and others disembarked along with him from the private jet, were bowed and formally received by a group of women and children.
Their arrival at the airport initially caused disturbance as tightened security resulted in temporarily closure of three terminals.
Though the visit was meant to be a bilateral trade between both the countries, the spotlight turned towards the luxurious lifestyle of the king being called out in comparison to the poverty among Swaziland's livelihood.
An Instagram user named "fun_factorss" uploaded the video with a line of text flashes on the reel reading, "Swaziland king arrived at Abu Dhabi with 15 wives and 100 servants. His father, King Sobhuza II, had 125 wives."
The video is flooded with comments voicing wealth inequality, capitalism and polygyny practices in 21st century.
One user wrote, "Apparently it's one of the poorest countries in the world" whereas another user commented that the nation's poverty is hardly a mystery when the wealth is concentrated among the ruling family.
People also called out the country's appeals for relief funds and wrote, "How about keeping one wife and spending the country's money where they need to be spent? Especially when there is little to spare-then they look for donations."
Currently, King Mswati has 15 wives and according to their tradition, every year he selects a new wife during the controversial “Reed Dance” ceremony.
Another user said, "Is there any co-ordinator in his house to manage all his wives?"