The thesis covers the branches of law known as Constitutional law and Customary law. It focuses on the powers of the Swazi monarch, which are based on a combination of the received Western law and Swazi custom. For the purposes of this study, therefore, Swazi law and custom shall be taken to include both the statutory law and the yet unwritten customary law. Swaziland is black Africa's only remaining traditional monarchy, ruled as it is by the Ngwenyama, an indigenous institution, whose origin is derived from custom. The resilience of this ancient system of government in a continent where modernisation and constitutional democracy among other factors have led to its extinction is phenomenal, particularly because some commentators have described traditionalism in modern Africa as an "embarrassing anachronism.' In Swaziland the monarchy continues to be a vibrant system and the nation is currently engaged in a process of not only codifying the customary law but also of drafting the constitution of the country. One of the key areas of concern is the question of the distribution of power between the monarch and the people under the proposed constitution. Traditionalists are of the view that the powers that the King currently exercises should remain intact as they are a reflection of the Swazi law and custom. Progressives, on the other hand, are of the view that the current position makes the King an absolute monarch and are thus proposing a change from an absolute to a constitutional monarch. In other words they want some kind of checks and balances in the envisaged system of government. The study will show that the constitutional evolution of Swaziland and the exigencies of synthesising modern and traditional systems of governance have over the years obscured the true nature of the powers of the monarch in terms of Swazi custom. Thus before we can consider whether the future of the monarchy in Swaziland depends on the harmonisation of modern and traditional systems of governance, it is necessary to revisit the past to determine the powers of the monarch in their embryonic form, for it is from this period that we can extrapolate the powers of the Ngwenyama in terms of Swazi custom. The thesis has been arranged as follows: The first chapter will review the precolonial political system of Swaziland with a view to establishing whether monarchical authority was founded on command or consensus. The various theories, which seek to explain the foundations of the monarchical system of government, will be outlined. The second chapter will focus on European influence on the Swazi traditional system of government. The third chapter will be an analysis of the powers of the monarch under the 1968 independence constitution. The fourth chapter will focus on the effect of the repeal of the 1968 independence constitution by the Monarch. The fifth chapter will focus on the constitutional reforms under the reign of king Mswati III. The sixth and last chapter focus on proposals for reform. The research method used was in the main, an analysis of relevant legal principles as contained in textbooks, legislation, journals, the scant case law that is available in this area of the law and other relevant materials. A comparative survey of ancient African kingdoms will be done, with emphasis on those Kingdoms, which later became British colonial possessions. It is hoped that this comparative analysis will help explain the evolution of these traditional structures alongside modern governmental institutions.

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This thesis offers an account of children's lived experiences in Rwanda (1930s-2016) in four key domains: kinship, education, economic transitions, and marriage. Based on historical and ethnographic fieldwork in rural and urban Rwanda from 2012 to 2014, this work explores how three generations of young people have experienced and navigated childhood and coming of age at the interface of 'traditional' and 'modern' institutional systems. Rather than focusing narrowly on 'crisis' childhoods, individual agency, or exogenous forces, as studies of young Africans and social change tend to, this work examines young people's 'everyday' actions - intentional and unintentional, individual and collective, compliant and non-compliant - and locates them within their broader historical, relational, and institutional environment. By focusing on the intensely reproductive period of childhood and coming of age, on Rwanda's unexceptional majority rather than its exceptionally vulnerable minority, and on children's everyday actions rather than the strategic actions of elites, this thesis shows us how children shape the institutions of childhood and marriage and, in so doing, influence how society is reproduced and changed. Theoretically, this thesis explains how children and their institutional environment are mutually constituting: it examines how and why young people experience rapid change and structural violence differently and it traces how they reproduce and change these structural conditions as they engage with institutional mechanisms in (un)intended ways. The research reveals that children in central Rwanda navigate constraints and opportunities by drawing on established kinship relationships and institutions while also opportunistically engaging with modern institutions and their actors. However, in this context of 'institutional multiplicity', traditional and modern institutional systems each need Rwanda's young majority to reproduce their institutions over others', and as intended, to achieve their power-distributional goals. This makes children's actions particularly consequential and demands that we redefine what political action - and political actors - look like.

This study aims at exploring how fathers' parenting strategies and the relationship they have with their children influences the children's ability to form other relationships outside the home. The study is based on parenting strategies identified by Diana Baumrind. Reviewed literature state that where a relationship between the father and his children is good, the children are more confident, stable and secure and therefore able to form seemingly stable social relationships. Where the relationship between father and his children is unhealthy, the children may be unsure of themselves and find it harder to form relationship outside the home. The parenting strategy resulting in the best relationships between the father and his children is the authoritative parenting strategy. Authoritative fathers set rules and follow them through while allowing dialogue. They encourage the development of self-identity and are lovingly involved in their children's lives. All participating fathers in this study have a son and daughter in the age range 13 to 25 years and all are able to communicate in English. The four participating fathers are from different ethnic groups, religious faith and professions. For each father interviewed, a son and a daughter were interviewed too. The same father parenting strategies identified in the literature were identified in this study. Three fathers fit the description of the authoritative parental strategy. Their six children agree that their relationships with their fathers are good. Even though these fathers are strict, they are loving and therefore the children feel secure and confident. These children are able to form stable relationships outside the home. The fourth father is an abusive father whose relationship with his children is unhealthy. His children are not very secure and are withdrawn. They have very few friends because they are afraid of the repercussions from friends discovering they have problems with their father. This study is a door opener in an area with little documented research namely parenting strategies in Africa in general and fathering strategies in particular. There is a need to explore the field further in order to develop training and care-giving structures based on African parental voices. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

This study aims at exploring how fathers' parenting strategies and the relationship they have with their children influences the children's ability to form other relationships outside the home. The study is based on parenting strategies identified by Diana Baumrind. Reviewed literature state that where a relationship between the father and his children is good, the children are more confident, stable and secure and therefore able to form seemingly stable social relationships. Where the relationship between father and his children is unhealthy, the children may be unsure of themselves and find it harder to form relationship outside the home. The parenting strategy resulting in the best relationships between the father and his children is the authoritative parenting strategy. Authoritative fathers set rules and follow them through while allowing dialogue. They encourage the development of self-identity and are lovingly involved in their children's lives. All participating fathers in this study have a son and daughter in the age range 13 to 25 years and all are able to communicate in English. The four participating fathers are from different ethnic groups, religious faith and professions. For each father interviewed, a son and a daughter were interviewed too. The same father parenting strategies identified in the literature were identified in this study. Three fathers fit the description of the authoritative parental strategy. Their six children agree that their relationships with their fathers are good. Even though these fathers are strict, they are loving and therefore the children feel secure and confident. These children are able to form stable relationships outside the home. The fourth father is an abusive father whose relationship with his children is unhealthy. His children are not very secure and are withdrawn. They have very few friends because they are afraid of the repercussions from friends discovering they have problems with their father. This study is a door opener in an area with little documented research namely parenting strategies in Africa in general and fathering strategies in particular. There is a need to explore the field further in order to develop training and care-giving structures based on African parental voices. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)