Swaziland Shopping, a newspaper aimed at businesses, was told to close because it did not conform to the Books and Newspapers Act 1963. The newspaper’s registration under the Act had been declined by the Swazi Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (MICT).
Swaziland is ruled by King
Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. Political parties are
banned from taking part in elections and groups advocating for democracy are banned
under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
The Swazi Observer, a newspaper in effect owned by the King,
reported on Friday (15 December 2017), MICT said Swaziland Shopping had not submitted a raft of
technical information, including profiles of the staff and their
qualifications.
Media censorship in
Swaziland is heavy. All broadcast media except one small under-resourced
television station Channel S is state controlled. Channel S has publicly stated
it would always support the King.
The Media Institute of
Southern Africa once estimated there were more than 30 pieces of legislation in
Swaziland to restrict operations of the media. They date back to before the present
Swaziland Constitution came into effect in 2005. Although the Constitution
allows for freedom of speech and the media none of these laws have been
repealed.
Among the laws restricting media freedom are laws on
national security and sedition. The Official Secrets Act, 1968 prohibits any
person who holds office under the Government from communicating ‘any code,
password, sketch, plan, model, article, note, document or information’ to an
unauthorised person. To convict a person under this Act, it is not necessary to
prove that the accused was guilty of any particular act, but merely that ‘it
appears, from the circumstances of the case or the conduct of the accused, that
his purpose was a purpose prejudicial to the safety or interests of Swaziland’.
The Sedition and Subversive Activities Act, 1938
states that a speech or publication is seditious if it is intended to bring the
king, his heirs, successors, or government into contempt or encourage hatred of
them. The Act has been described as a ‘draconian piece of legislation, the
primary purpose of which is to provide for the suppression and punishment of
sedition, that is criticism of the king and the Swaziland government’.
Other laws are about content of
newspapers and broadcasting stations. Criminal defamation remains part of
Swaziland’s laws dating back to the Cape Libel Act, 1882 which made it an
offence to publish a defamatory libel: that is to injure the reputation of a
person and expose him or her to hatred, ridicule and contempt.
Swaziland offers specific protection for the person of
the Ndlovukati (Queen Mother). The Protection of the Person of the Ndlovukati
Act, 1968 makes it an offence to bring into hatred or contempt, or incite
disaffection or ill will or hostility against, the person of Ndlovukati.
Swaziland has no freedom of
information legislation. The Official Secrets Act and other restrictive
practices restrict the media in their efforts to obtain information and report
freely on the activities of government. Access to information from the
government and officials depends on goodwill and contacts rather than on any
clearly established rules.
The Obscene Publications Act, 1927 prohibits
the importation, making, manufacture, production, sale, distribution, or public
exposure of indecent or obscene material. No exemption is granted to material
of an artistic, literary or scientific nature. The Act does not define what it
means by the terms ‘indecent’ and ‘obscene’.
Legislation also restricts reporting of law courts.
The Magistrate’s Courts Act, 1939 grants magistrates the power to hold trials
in camera or to exclude females, minors and the public generally ‘in the
interest of good order or public morals’.
The Proscribed Publications Act, 1968 is a particularly
notorious piece of legislation impacting on the print media sector. It empowers
the Minister for Public Service and Information to ban publications, ‘if the
publication is prejudicial or potentially prejudicial to the interests of
defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health’. Two
newly-established publications, the Guardian
and the Nation, both with agendas
critical of the government, were closed under this Act in 2001, although the Nation appealed the ban in the High
Court and won its case and continues to publish, but the Guardian closed.
The Cinematograph Act, 1920 controls the making and
public dissemination of films, and of pictures and placards relating to the
films. The Act also prohibits films to be made of certain Swazi cultural
occasions and celebrations namely the Incwala Day, the King’s Birthday, the
Umhlanga (Reed Dance) and the Somhlolo (Independence Day) without the Minister’s
written consent. The Minister has an unlimited discretion to grant or to refuse
consent.
The Swaziland Television Authority Act, 1983 and the
Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications Act, 1983 regulated television and
resulted in a near-monopoly of state-controlled television and radio in
Swaziland. The Board of the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunication Corporation
has sole authority to issue broadcasting licences, which it hardly ever does.
Consequently, there is only one commercial radio station (a Christian station
that does not report news or current events) and no community stations.
See also
TV
CENSORS PUBLIC SERVANTS’ MARCH
NO
LET UP ON SWAZI MEDIA CENSORSHIP
GOVT HAS TOTAL CONTROL OF TV NEWS
GOVT
‘TIGHTENS GRIP ON CENSORSHIP’
BILL
LETS KING CONTROL BROADCASTING
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