Swaziland's King Mswati, the only absolute monarch in sub-Saharan Africa, has issued a royal edict banning photos of his many luxury cars. In December he bought a $500,000 DaimlerChrysler Maybach 62, and BMWs all around for his 10 wives. He issued the edict after buying a more expensive car on Friday — a stretch Mercedes S600 limousine — in order to drive up to the newly opened parliament last week.
Mswati was forced to shelve plans three years ago to spend $45 million on a new royal jet, but has shown little inclination to rein in other royal spending projects which include a $15 million project to build individual new palaces for his growing retinue of wives.
[Swaziland, a] "tiny, impoverished kingdom, suffers frequent food shortages and one of the world's highest AIDS infection rates."
Link (Thanks, Mike!)
