Mbabane - Swaziland Prime Minister Sibusiso Dlamini, 76, long King Mswati III’s right-hand man as head of government, is in a stable condition at the intensive care unit of Mbabane Government Hospital.
A member of the royal family, Dlamini is the country’s longest-serving premier.
“I visited the prime minister last night. He is in stable condition and has been meeting with government officials while in the ICU,” government spokesman Percy Simelane told Independent Media.
Simelane said Dlamini requested that a statement be released to counter widespread social media reports that he had died.
“I believe the prime minister will be released from hospital if not later today (Friday), then tomorrow,” Simelane said.
The nature of Dlamini’s illness is not known.
Sources suggest that exhaustion played a role because of this past week of extensive international travel and the activities surrounding the celebration King Mswati III’s 50th birthday and the country’s 50th anniversary independence commemoration on April 19.
A former minister of finance from 1984 to 1993 who was previously employed by the World Bank, Dlamini was appointed prime minister in 1996. He served until 2003, when he joined the senior advisory council to the king, the Liqoqo.
When the global financial crisis of 2008 wreaked havoc on Swaziland’s economy, King Mswati again appointed Dlamini as prime minister to help stabilise the economy. He was reappointed in 2013.