Swaziland: A battle is ongoing between modernity and tradition, reports Bill Corcoran in Mbabane.
In a kingdom run by an absolute monarchy that has seen fit to ban political parties for more than 30 years, Mario Masuku admits that leading Swaziland's only underground opposition movement is no easy task.
To date the 54-year-old, who is president of the People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), has spent more than 18 months in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison on charges of sedition against King Mswati III, although he was eventually acquitted of any wrongdoing.
His time spent in solitary confinement between 2000 and 2002 brought international recognition to the political oppression his country has been subjected to for the 30 years since King Mswati III's father, Sobhuza II, introduced a state of emergency which left political parties illegal under the law.
"I think the regime is aware that imprisoning me was counterproductive to their cause, but my life was not easy in jail as I was not able to talk to anyone. But it was also what the party wanted because of the recognition it brought, so I accepted the process," he says.
Since his release, he maintains, his house is frequently raided and his family continually harassed by a police force loyal to the 37-year-old king he would see dethroned.
His distaste for the latest king emanates from a belief that King Mswati III has failed the Swazi people at a time when they need a leader willing to put his people above himself, and tackle the dual crises of HIV/Aids and economic collapse, which are crippling the nation.
"Our party and members are clearly being repressed, and effectively the country has been run under a state of emergency for over 30 years. We have held rallies and our people have been beaten by the police for attending. It happened only last February at a youth league meeting.
"But we will continue to hold rallies to commemorate the important dates for our movement, so I assure you there will be problems in the future," he says matter-of-factly.
In many ways the standoff between King Mswati III and the leadership of the Pudemo is a battle between modernity and tradition.
In one corner you have the Eton-educated monarch who is obliged to support 11 wives, two fiancées and at least 15 children as well as 200 siblings.
However, this obligation manifests itself in the form of spending millions of euro on lavish palaces (he is building one for each of his wives), expensive cars, planes and other material cravings while his subjects live in abject poverty.
The unemployment figure in the tiny mountainous kingdom located between South Africa and Mozambique stands at 40 per cent, while nearly 70 per cent of the 1.1 million population lives below the poverty line.
In the other corner sits Masuku and his party members - of whom there are between 15,000 and 20,000, he claims - who refuse to give up the struggle to reduce the powers of the continent's last remaining absolute king and set up a fledgling democracy.
"The economic situation in Swaziland cannot get any better because the strategies employed by the monarchy are not winning ones," he says.
"Unemployment is at 40 per cent, the HIV/Aids infection rate has now reached 42.6 per cent of the population while King Mswati III continues to spend lavishly on himself and his family."
Despite the existence of Masuku and the Pudemo the average Swazi has yet to back the underground movement in large numbers.
Few will openly criticise the king, even in private conversation, because of a strong sense of loyalty to the submissive culture that flourishes under an absolute monarchy.
Nevertheless, Masuku is adamant that the forces of change are not far from gathering at the gates of the royal household.
"I believe change will come and sooner than people will imagine," he says.
"The people in Swaziland realise they have no say in governance. They know the king is abusing his authority and turning the country into his fiefdom.
"It is true people are more traditional here and follow what they know, but people followed Mussolini, Hitler and Idi Amin until there was a change.
"So there is time for a change here, and all these realisations will sooner or later explode," he says.
Masuku maintains that while the Pudemo is committed to bringing democratic change via the will of the majority of people, the party's principles are based on a "revolutionary character".
"We are not a social group or a church organisation, but the liberation and transformation of the country should be brought about by the act of the people themselves," he suggests.
"We cannot dictate what form of liberation will take place, but we are a political party seeking a constitutional multiparty government coupled with a vibrant economy and modern cultural values."
Such is the level of oppression he and his colleagues are subjected to that Masuku claims the party has recently taken an executive decision to allow force to be used to defend members from attack by the authorities.
"Late last year at our annual conference we agreed that we would not allow our people to be beaten by the police. So we came up with the resolution that we would defend the people. We won't act violently, but we will react to their violence," he explains.
What Masuku and his party want most in the short term is for the international community to treat King Mswati as they do President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe: to isolate him and those close to him from the outside world.
He also believes that, despite the widespread need for international aid to prop up the failing economy and tackle the world's highest rate of HIV/Aids infection, the international community should cease providing donor funds that many people believe are essential if the country is to stop short of complete collapse.
"We need the world to stop aiding the royal family in Swaziland," Mario Masuku concludes.