27/06/2025
There has been some debates going on as to why the Asantehene His Majesty Otumfuo Osei Tutu II greeted His Majesty King Mswati III while standing contrary to beliefs that the Asantehene does not stand and greet anyone.
Also, some people are of the opinion that the Ashanti region which the Otumfuo is lord over is bigger in terms of land size than the country Eswatini and as such the Asantehene is far bigger than the Eswatini King.
Let me clarify that the belief that the Asantehene does not stand to greet anyone is a propagandist myth which is not in line with Asante traditions. The only circumstance where the Asantehene is prevented from standing to greet is when he is seated in a durbar, any other casual occasion he can choose to stand and greet depending on who is involved.
Now, in addressing the second issue of who is bigger between the Asantehene and King Mswati III, let’s first understand some facts. The Asanteman is only one out of 16 regions in Ghana with no sovereignty, military, police and currency of its own whiles Eswatini is a sovereign country recognised by the United Nations with its own currency, military, central bank and others like any other nation giving King Mswati III enormous local and international powers than the Asantehene. Again when it comes to power, land size doesn’t count. For example Ghana is bigger than the U.K, does that make Ghana more powerful than the U.K? The answer is a clear NO. King Mswati III is an absolute monarch of an entire nation and the commander in chief of the Eswatini armed forces while Otumfuo is the traditional leader of a particular tribe in a nation of over 47 tribes.
These make His Majesty King Mswati III far more powerful both locally and on the international stage than the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II with no disrespect to his stool🙏🏽
Written by: Chairman Freemind
