Swaziland's Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) has said the government's efforts to remove him from office are unconstitutional.

I'm not dropping charges, there's no-one who can apply pressure on me... I work independently

Lincoln Ng'arua

Lincoln Ng'arua, whose post has been advertised by the authorities, told the BBC that the move was an attack on the independence of the judiciary.

Mr Ng'arua has been involved in a dispute with the government over a court case against the royal family.

The case has gripped public imagination in Swaziland, pitting traditionalists against those who want change in Africa's last absolute monarchy.

It was brought by a concerned mother alleging that King Mswati's aides had abducted her daughter whom he wanted as his 10th wife.

'Independent'

Mr Ng'arua said he would not be intimidated into dropping sedition charges against the attorney-general, who has been accused of ordering the country's chief justice and two other judges to throw out the case.

"I'm not dropping charges, there's no-one who can apply pressure on me... I work independently," he told the BBC's Network Africa programme.

"The removal of myself from office is not in itself a guarantee for the withdrawal of charges. The charges stay," he said.

The king is under pressure to modernise

Mr Ng'arua said that the procedure had not been followed when his post was advertised.

"The tenure of office is guaranteed under the constitution therefore you cannot just declare a position vacant without following the provisions of the constitution."

"It's unconstitutional, it's an attack on the independence of the judiciary and the independence of the DPP," he said.

Legal wrangle

Last week, Mr Ng'arua wrote to the government, saying that he refused to step down, unless he was paid in full until the end of his contract in 2005.

He had been told to resign unless he dropped sedition charges against the attorney general.

The charges against attorney general Phesheya Dlamini stem from his ultimatum that three judges drop a court case against royal aides, or lose their jobs.

King Mswati's first wife is a practising lawyer

The aides to King Mswati were sued by Zena Mahlangu's mother - the first time that a prospective royal mother-in-law has objected to a marriage to the king.

The case was eventually postponed indefinitely after the girl, spoke to her mother and said she did not mind becoming a queen.

The BBC's Tom Holloway in Mbabane says that most Swazis believe that the king's advisors are to blame for this affair and their actions are helping opponents of the monarchy and their calls for reforming Swaziland's political system.