With a resounding “boom,” Ndofa's statue on the mountaintop was blown in half. A large crowd of onlookers nearby erupted in cheers, draping the Swaziland Republic flag over the statue's head before breaking into song and dance.
The scene shifted to the streets of Mbabane, the capital, now packed with people blocking traffic. Cars plastered with banners blared their horns as a throng of Swazis danced and sang with abandon. Soldiers and civilians alike fired celebratory gunshots into the air. On the sidewalks, piles of burning tires and garbage smoldered, while people threw portraits of Ndofa and T-shirts emblazoned with "I Love General Ndofa" into the flames.
Such scenes have dominated the news reels on major media outlets over the past week.
At noon on the day the presidential palace was seized, deposed former king Mswati III returned to Swaziland. Shortly afterward, he made a nationwide radio broadcast, declaring, “Loyalist forces have taken the presidential palace, successfully overthrowing the 'puppet government' led by Ndofa and winning the final victory in the ‘War for National Reunification.’”
The power transition went more smoothly than anticipated. In particular, when the king announced the repeal of the Sisuluveni Isolation Zone project and offered amnesty to all soldiers who surrendered to the new government, Swaziland’s internal situation stabilized in short order. Soon after, the United States and other Western countries, along with neighboring South Africa and Mozambique, recognized the new government. The Commonwealth approved Swaziland’s application for readmission.
A week later, the People’s Republic of China, which had previously remained silent, also recognized the new government, announcing it would establish diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Swaziland by mid-June. Mswati III expressed his gratitude to the Chinese government and promised to uphold contracts signed between the previous government and Chinese enterprises.
Shortly after formal diplomatic ties were established between China and Swaziland, the Swazi government announced, without public tender, that 50 percent of the nation’s mineral extraction rights had been granted to Hong Kong-based “Ruiyuan International,” recognizing the company as Swaziland’s sole legal mining operator under a 20-year agreement.
The news sent shockwaves through the Hong Kong stock market. Ruiyuan International, once considered a penny stock, became highly sought after, surging an astonishing 600 percent on its first trading day—though trading volume remained at zero, as all shareholders held their positions in anticipation.
Meanwhile, “Diliman Holdings’” aggressive acquisitions and capital maneuvers since the beginning of the year attracted considerable attention, fueling rumors of market manipulation and insider trading. Due to unusual price fluctuations, Ruiyuan International’s stock was suspended the day after the meteoric rise as the Securities and Futures Commission launched an investigation.
The investigation, however, was dropped within a few days. All evidence showed that the companies’ series of actions had been completed before the coup in Swaziland, with the Commission concluding that no violations were found.
This outcome was like a shot of adrenaline for investors watching the stock.
During its first week back on the market, Ruiyuan International continued to be highly sought after, with its share price surging from less than HK$0.7 to over HK$7.60—a tenfold increase—though trading volume remained sparse, as institutional investors and brokers appeared optimistic about the company's prospects.
If you come across this story on Amazon, it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.
Then, a bombshell announcement shook stock markets worldwide: British mining giant Rio Tinto announced its largest acquisition since buying “Alcan” in 2007. The company had reached an agreement with “Diliman Holdings” to purchase its 60 percent stake in Ruiyuan International at $1.50 per share, for a total acquisition price of $4.9 billion.
Upon completion, Rio Tinto became the largest shareholder of Ruiyuan International, establishing a new company—“Rio Tinto-Ruiyuan”—dedicated to mineral extraction in Swaziland.
The stock market went into a frenzy.
Under coordinated selling by major shareholders, the rebranded “Rio Tinto-Ruiyuan” stock price surged at an astonishing rate, climbing to a high of HK$34 per share within three months.
Plagued by scandals involving contract breaches and espionage since 2009, Rio Tinto’s stock had languished. But driven by these successive favorable developments, the company’s share price rebounded, posting a 30 percent cumulative gain within six months, adding over $20 billion in market value and vaulting it past its rival, BHP Billiton, to become the world’s second-largest mining company.
After the successful coup, Deng Shiyang and the other white mercenaries left Swaziland under arrangements made by Harobi. Only Semler remained in Swaziland as a military advisor, tasked with leading troops to defend the royal palace and assisting the new government in quelling internal resistance when necessary.
A.F.S. soon became Swaziland’s largest military contractor, handling personnel training, equipment procurement, and logistical support for the national army. Keith Brown returned to the country as project director, becoming a trusted military advisor to Mswati III. Providing logistics services to A.F.S. was the “Carl Augusta International Trade Company,” whose new general manager was Ivan Selnochevich.
Mark Flaming returned to Belgium, using his savings to buy a small bar on Klein Street in Ostend. He initially planned to retire peacefully but lost his money within a year and, after selling the bar, resumed his mercenary career.
Per Jansen continued to be active in war-torn regions worldwide. The last known report of him was in Juba, South Sudan, where rumors had him working for MPRI, assisting the Sudan People’s Liberation Army with training as it prepared to transition to the South Sudanese Army following the independence referendum scheduled for July 2011.
Deng Shiyang returned to the United States via Hong Kong, liquidating all his assets and asking the company he worked for to delete his records. He then vanished without a trace. Numerous rumors circulated in the industry, but none were ever confirmed.
One man, however, would remain in Swaziland forever. Jannie Du Preez was buried on a picturesque hillside in the Ezulwini Valley. His gravestone bore no inscription about his identity, only a poem by British writer Thomas Hardy:
Do not tell of my death,
Nor weep for my end,
Do not bury me in a place for worship,
No need for the priest to toll the bell.
Do not let anyone view my remains,
No funeral procession, no final farewell.
Plant no flowers or grass upon my grave,
My only wish in life,
Was that the world might forget me.
Annotations:
Total revenue:
Deng Shiyang: Purchased 3.800000 shares for HK$1,880,000, which were later split into 22,800,000 shares. The stock price first rose from HK$0.49 to HK$0.6, then decreased to HK$0.1 after the split, and rose to HK$0.7 before the trading suspension. After the resumption of trading, it rose to HK$7.6, and finally rose to HK$34. After the sale, the net worth was HK$7752,000,000, "7.752 billion", which is equivalent to US$9938,46153.8, "993 million US dollars"
Rio Tinto Group: "Rio Tinto-Ruiyuan" company was established, acquired 60% of the shares, and earned a total of US$18676800000, '18.67 billion US dollars'. The company's total valuation was US$33128205128 (calculated at HK$34/share, with a total of 7 ,6000,0000 shares '760 million shares')
1.exchange rate at 1 USD to 7.8 HKD
2.part of the project manager’s salary is not calculated,salary:£150,000=225,000 USD.