When I reported last week that the Times of Swaziland had been threatened with closure earlier this year unless it retracted a story it had published about King Mswati III, it reminded us all that free speech is not allowed in Swaziland (no matter what the Constitution says).
Newspapers and magazines have been attacked by the ruling powers in Swaziland before and the police forces (acting on their behalf) take no notice if the courts rule against them.
Here’s a little history lesson, courtesy of Afrol news agency – the same agency that supplied the report about King Mswati III that sparked the problem at the Times this year.
In May 2001, Afrol reported how Swaziland police raided the kingdom’s only independent news magazine, the Nation, in defiance of the country's High Court. The Nation, which had been banned by the government earlier that month, had received the court's approval to return to publishing.
Afrol reported, ‘The uniformed policemen insisted that the outspoken magazine was still technically banned and said they had instructions to confiscate all copies of its June edition. Policemen also reportedly confiscated over 5,000 copies of the publication from street vendors in the capital Mbabane and other major centres such as Manzini and Piggs Peak.’
Afrol added, ‘The Nation is one of two independent publications banned by Swaziland Public Service and Information Minister Mtonzima Dlamini on World Press Freedom Day on May 3 in an apparent clampdown on journalists critical of the kingdom’s monarchist system of government.
‘Dlamini banned the Nation and weekly newspaper Swazi Guardian in an extraordinary gazette, citing Section 3 of the Proscribed Publications Act of 1968, which gives his office unlimited powers to ban or suspend publications that do not conform with “Swazi morality and ideals”.’
Afrol reported, ‘Both the Guardian and the Nation are known to support the multi-party democracy movement and have both been critical of King Mswati III’s decision to govern by decree. All political parties have been banned in Swaziland since the suspension of the kingdom's constitution in 1973.
‘Mswati’s handpicked Parliament has also recently demanded that a proposed Media Council Bill be tabled for adoption. The Media Bill was deferred five years ago following international condemnation for allegedly seeking to gag and control journalists by requiring them to register with a government controlled media council.’
In a later report Afrol gave more details of the manner in which the banning was implemented.
‘The initial banning, published in Extraordinary Government Gazette 63, sparked police blockades and raids against retail outlets selling the publications,’ Afrol reported.
‘Nation editor Bheki Makhubu confirmed that uniformed policemen raided his offices on Tuesday evening and attempted to confiscate all copies of the magazine’s June edition. Police also reportedly harassed magazine vendors and retailers in Mbabane and the commercial city of Manzini, before confiscating early copies of the magazine.’
The banning saw police impound the Guardian as its delivery trucks crossed into Swaziland from its printers in South Africa.
Afrol continued, ‘The Guardian has meanwhile ceased publication of its weekly newspaper, but is updating its daily Internet with details of its struggle for media freedom. Both the Guardian and the Nation are known to support Swaziland's banned multi-party democracy movement and have both been critical of King Mswati III's decision to govern by royal decree.’
In an earlier report Afrol told how police had arrested the Guardian’s editor, Thulani Mthethwa, and drove him to police headquarters in Mbabane where he was interrogated at length over stories in his newspaper about activities in King Mswati III's palace. He was released after several hours.
The Guardian had reported on King Mswati III's health, as well as on rumours that he was poisoned by his first wife. The Guardian had earlier published a photograph of the queen crying at the Mbabane airport as she prepared to board a plane for London, allegedly because King Mswati III had expelled her from the royal palace.
The claims were that Queen Mngomezulu was ‘driven to the Lozitha Palace and questioned about her role in the suspected food poisoning’ of King Mswati III. Palace insiders had said ‘that Mswati complained of stomach cramps immediately after eating a special breakfast prepared by Mngomezulu’.
Afrol went on to report that senior journalists at both publications had previously been detained and questioned by police, who demanded that they reveal their sources on reports critical of the kingdom's ban on free political activity.
See also
CLOSURE THREAT TO TIMES
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