28 August 2016: King Mswati III attends the traditional Umhlanga Festival, also known as the Reed Dance, at Ludzidzini royal village in Lobamba, eSwatini. (Photograph by Ihsaan Haffejee/ Anadolu Agency/ Getty Images) King Mswati III turns 53 today. Fresh from Sherbone School in Dorset, England, he ascended the throne at just 18, inheriting a system carefully built by his father, King Sobhuza II. Over the years, he has exercised control over the country, routinely quelling dissent and populating institutions with people agreeable to him and his policies across all three spheres of government. Now, 35 years later, one institution – Parliament’s House of Assembly – is showing signs of independence, vigorously debating the government’s bills and notices to the point of rejecting some. But there is no official opposition in the house, owing to there being no political party representation. Instead, some members of Parliament (MPs) have formed a collective akin to one.