Africa-Press – Eswatini. His Majesty King Mswati III is looking forward to a moment when Royal Jozini Private Game Reserve in Lavumisa under Somntongo Inkhundla hosts the Big Five wild animals.
The king said this on Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at Royal Jozini Private Game Reserve when he officially opened the game reserve. The Big Five animals include lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and buffaloes.
Among the Big Five animals, the Royal Jozini Private Game Reserve has elephants. The management plans to introduce lions into the game reserve. However, no date has been set on when the lions will be brought to the wild life centre.
Royal Jozini Private Game Reserve Chairman Joe Swart, when making a presentation about the establishment to the king, said they were also planning to re-introduce cheetahs into the reserve. Swart said they would bring them back in November, after they had been here 20 years ago.
Swart said Jozini, in which an investment of E200 million was made, was a private game reserve of 7 hectares situated on the foothills of the Lubombo Mountains and on the northern tip of the big Jozini Dam situated mainly in the KwaZulu Natal Province of South Africa. Jozini was founded by 120 international investors.
The chairman emphasised that they did not sell land within the game reserve. They held the land on behalf of His Majesty the King. They leased land to investors who would build lodges for tourists who visited the place. He said the lodges were safe for people from dangerous animals, as they used 50 kilometres of electric fencing to avoid such problems. The opportunity for investors is still available.
Swart also said each year, they held fishing competition, where the first person to catch a tiger fish would win a prize of E10 000. Animals present in Jozini include zebras, kudus, elephants, giraffes, waterbucks, hippos, birds species, among other animals. The establishment presented five cattle to Their Majesties, with three of them belonging to the king, while two belong to Her Majesty the Indlovukazi.
When addressing the residents of Lavumisa, the king thanked the establishment for the gifts. He applauded the management for having improved that place, which had been a farm before becoming a game reserve. He thanked the people who stayed there for allowing the implementation of the project to take place by consenting to being removed from that place to allow for the establishment of the game reserve.
He said the project will help improve tourism, agriculture, and job creation. The king said the dam would also help in availability of water. It will not only help Lavumisa residents, but will also help residents from places such as Phongola and Mkhuze. The king also shared a light moment by saying he would also like to take part in the fishing competition and see which prize he could win.
Residents of Lavumisa, include their traditional leader, Chief Gasa wa Ngwane, were happy to host the king,whom they got an opportunity to listen to when addressing them.
The Royal Jozini Private Game Reserve was the second place visited by the king. His first stop was Qomintaba, under Matsanjeni South Inkhundla, where he planted a tree at the 7th On The Hill Hotel, which is still under construction.
Below are some of the points about the Royal Jozini Private Game Reserve:
Currently, the reserve has elephants.
Plans are underway to introduce lions, but no specific date has been set.
Cheetahs, which lived in the reserve 20 years ago, are set to be reintroduced in November.
Royal Jozini Chairman Joe Swart revealed:
The reserve is a 7-hectare private game park at the foothills of the Lubombo Mountains, near the Jozini Dam, which lies mostly in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The project involved a E200 million investment by 120 international investors.
Land is leased, not sold; it is held in trust for the King.
Electric fencing (50 km) ensures the safety of tourist lodges.
There’s an annual fishing competition, with E10,000 awarded to the first person to catch a tiger fish.
Animals currently in the reserve include: Zebras, kudus, giraffes, waterbucks, hippos, various bird species, and elephants.
To honour Their Majesties, the establishment gifted them five cattle—three for the King and two for the Indlovukazi.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
