By Zweli Martin Dlamini

MBABANE:King Mswati, an absolute Monarch, has allegedly granted former President of the Democratic Republic of Congo(DRC) Joseph Kabila Eswatini citizenship without following the Citizenship Act, an independent investigation conducted by this Swaziland News reveals.

This disclosure comes after Kabila made frequent visits to the tiny Kingdom situated in Southern Africa, he was recently sentenced to death in absentia by the DRC Military Court for his alleged links with the M23 Rebels and was found guilty of treason, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

But documentary evidence sourced from the Eswatini Ministry of Home Affairs suggests that, subsequent to the King’s order directing the Citizenship Board to grant the former DRC President Citizenship, the Ministry of Home Affairs went on to grant him a diplomatic passport.

As a result, on Saturday-29th November 2025, former President Joseph Kabila left Eswatini through the King Mswati International Airport using his new Eswatini diplomatic passport, the Home Affairs Immigration System suggests that, it was his first trip using the Eswatini passport.

The new diplomatic passport granted to the former President Joseph Kabila including the passport number cannot be disclosed for ethical reasons as this might compromise the security of the former President.

Reached for comments by this Swaziland News on Wednesday afternoon, King Mswati’s Spokesperson Percy Simelane said, he was not aware that the former DRC President “has been granted Eswatini citizenship but clarified that, multi-nationals “apply for Eswatini citizenship now and then” hence Kabila’s citizenship would not be an unusual issue.

“We are not aware Mr Kabila has been granted citizenship. What we are aware of is that multi-nationals apply for Eswatini Citizenship every now and then. The citizenship board looks at the applications, grants or refuses to pass an application. If true, his granting would not be a test case therefore,” said the King’s Spokesperson.

Joseph Kabila’s fallout with current DRC President intensified after Felix Tshisekedi accused Kabila of having and/or maintaining links with the M23 Rebels, the former President subsequently ran to hide in eSwatini after being sentenced to death by the DRC Military Court.

Former DRC President Joseph Kabila is the son of the late ex-President Laurent Kabila, a former rebel leader who ousted the then dictator President Mobutu Sese Seko.

Laurent Kabila was assassinated on or around the 16th January 2001 after being shot by one of his bodyguards Rashidi Mizele but, Mizele was also killed shortly after by another Presidential aide and soon thereafter, Joseph Kabila succeeded his father as President.

But this disclosure regarding the alleged strong links between ex-President Joseph Kabila and King Mswati, comes at a time when the “current DRC President Felix Tshisekedi is dealing with the aftermath of an attempted of an attempted coup in the Democratic Republic of Congo”.

Christian Malanga who was allegedly linked to King Mswati’s senior son Defense and State Security Principal Secretary Principal Secretary(PS) Prince Sicalo was killed in an attempted coup seeking to overthrow DRC President Felix Tshisekedi.