Swaziland journalist death threat after article supporting absolute monarch’s regime

A Swaziland (eSwatini) journalist received a death threat after he wrote an article in support of the political regime headed by absolute monarch King Mswati III.

Welcome Dlamini of the Times of eSwatini reported to police that he had received text messages and one threatened him with death. The text referred to an article he had written for the paper supporting the local tinkhundla system of government. One text told him to stop ‘lambasting progressive / political parties’.

The tinkhundla system in Swaziland does not allow political parties to stand in elections. King Mswati appoints the prime minister and government. He also chooses top judges and civil servants. Groups advocating multi-party democracy are banned under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

The People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) the best known of the prodemocracy groups and one of those banned dissociated itself from the death threat.

Police are investigating.

Journalists are often under attack in Swaziland but it is usually those criticising the regime who suffer. At present Eugene Dube, editor of the website Swati Newsweek, is in exile in South Africa after he wrote articles considered critical of the King.

Ncamiso Ngcamphalala, the Economic Freedom Fighters of Swaziland President, is on bail awaiting trail charged with sedition following comments he made in an interview with Swati Newsweek. He told the High court he had been tortured by police.

In March 2020 Swaziland journalist and former government cabinet minister Mfomfo Nkambule said he was tortured by police after he wrote articles critical of King Mswati for the online newspaper Swaziland News.

Also in March 2020 the editor of Swaziland News Zweli Martin Dlamini told the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s Media Monitor programme that police raided his home after he published articles in his newspaper. He said police tied him up and suffocated him with a plastic bag.

He was speaking from South Africa and said he feared returning to Swaziland.

See also

Swaziland journalist in exile after criticising king gets global press freedom honour

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/06/swaziland-journalist-in-exile-after.html

Swaziland journalist critical of King flees, hides in forest five days

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/05/swaziland-journalist-critical-of-king.html

 

Swaziland journalist ‘tortured by police after criticising absolute monarch in newspaper articles’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/03/swaziland-journalist-tortured-by-police.html

 

Newspaper editor flees Swaziland for second time after arrest and police torture

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/03/newspaper-editor-flees-swaziland-for.html

‘No media freedom’ in Swaziland, Reporters Without Borders annual report states

There is ‘no media freedom’ in Swaziland (eSwatini) according to the Reporters Without Borders 2020 World Press Freedom Index just published.

It described the kingdom as an ‘absolute monarchy that prevents journalists from working freely’.

In its annual review of  press freedom around the world, the group reported, ‘No court is allowed to prosecute or try members of the government, but any criticism of the regime is liable to be the subject of a prosecution. Far from being an independent protector of rights and freedoms, the judicial system is often used to undermine journalism. In 2019, for example, a court decision banned articles about the circumstances in which a new bank obtained a licence to operate in the kingdom. A ubiquitous obsession with secrecy makes it hard to access information and the state wields total control over the media.
 
‘The king’s speechwriter is the editor in chief of the country’s oldest and most popular newspaper. The only privately-owned TV channel belongs to the royal family and criticism of the authorities is severely punished thanks to the existence of dozens of draconian laws under which reporters can be prosecuted. 

‘Harassment, intimidation and physical violence against journalists are all common and result in almost constant self-censorship. In January 2018, an investigative journalist had to flee to South Africa after being threatened in connection with an article about the king’s alleged involvement in a corruption case. His newspaper was closed on the king’s orders. Several photojournalists were also attacked, including by police.’

King Mswati III rules Swaziland as an absolute monarch and freedoms speech, assembly and association are severely limited. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections and the king chooses the prime minister and government as well as top judges and civil servants.

Media freedom is severely limited and investigative journalists live with constant harassment. In the past month alone there have been a number of attacks on the Swaziland News, an online newspaper. Mfomfo Nkambule a comment writer reported in March 2020 that he had been tortured by police after he wrote articles critical of the king.

The editor of the Swaziland News Zweli Martin Dlamini fled to neighbouring South Africa in the same month for the second time. He said he had been arrested and tortured by Swazi police who accused him of sedition. 

Also, on 7 February 2020, The Swaziland News reported Dlamini was being harassed and receiving death threats from King Mswati’s first born daughter Princess Sikhanyiso, who is the Minister of Information Communication and Technology.

Dlamini had previously fled to South Africa in fear of his life in 2018. He had received death threats from a local businessman and his newspaper Swaziland Shopping was shut down by the Swazi government.

The Swaziland News is one of a number of websites and social media outlets using the internet to advocate for democratic reform in Swaziland. In January 2020 National Commissioner of Police William Dlamini said police would hunt down and arrest people who criticised King Mswati on social media. He made the announcement in a written statement published in media across Swaziland.

A report compiled by Swazi Media Commentary in May 2019 detailing attacks on journalists in Swaziland during the previous 12 months revealed they had been beaten by state forces and teachers as they tried to cover public events. Two were detained at the Qatar Embassy in Mbabane, the Swazi capital, when they went to question a diplomat. A government minister called for a journalist to be arrested for taking photographs of ministerial cars parked in a public place. A former newspaper editor was questioned by police about allegations he had interviewed members of banned political organisations back in 2011.

See also

Swaziland journalist ‘tortured by police after criticising absolute monarch in newspaper articles’

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/03/swaziland-journalist-tortured-by-police.html 

Newspaper editor flees Swaziland for second time after arrest and police torture

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/03/newspaper-editor-flees-swaziland-for.html
 

‘Attempt made to poison journalist critic of Swaziland’s absolute monarch,’ editor says

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/12/attempt-made-to-poison-journalist.html

Swaziland journalist ‘tortured by police after criticising absolute monarch in newspaper articles’

Swaziland journalist and former government cabinet minister Mfomfo Nkambule said he was tortured by police after he wrote articles critical of absolute monarch King Mswati III.

Nkambule writes for the online newspaper Swaziland News.

In an interview he told the newspaper that on Thursday (12 March 2020) police raided his home and seized electronic gadgets. He said he was taken to Manzini police regional headquarters where he was harassed and tortured.

He told the Swaziland News, ‘They tortured me saying I risk being charged with high treason and under the terrorism law.’ He said police complained about articles he wrote critical of the political system.

In Swaziland political parties are barred from contesting elections. Groups that advocate for democracy are banned under the Suppression of Terrorism Act. King Mswati appoints the prime minister and the cabinet. He also chooses top judges and civil servants.

Swazi police spokesman Superintendent Phindile Valakati, told the newspaper, ‘We summoned Nkambule seeking clarity on his published articles. However, we didn’t torture him.’

Mfomfo Nkambule

Earlier this week the editor of Swaziland News Zweli Martin Dlamini told the South African Broadcasting Corporation’s Media Monitor programme that police raided his home after he published articles in his newspaper. He said police tied him up and suffocated him with a plastic bag. He was speaking from South Africa and said he feared returning to Swaziland (eSwatini).

In December 2019, Dlamini called for an investigation after Nkambule reported he had been the victim of an attempt by a government minister and members of an elite group linked to the Swazi Royal Family to poison him at a braai. 

This followed an article in Swaziland News in which Nkambule wrote, ‘He [the King] has given us the status of servants in this country. As servants, we do not have any right whatsoever. We have no right to vote, no right to form political parties, no right to form a government of our choice, no power to legislate and to appropriate resources. We need a referendum on the King!’

Nkambule has been a critic of the political system in Swaziland and the role of the monarch for many years.

He attracted international attention in 2008 and 2009 for outspoken articles he wrote each week in the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.

Nkambule specialised in criticising Swazi Royalty and the traditionalists who supported the King.

Nkambule, who had formerly been Health and Social Welfare Minister appointed by the King, was hauled in by Swaziland’s state police and threatened with torture if he continued to criticise the King. 

He was later dropped from his traditional regiment, threatened with banishment from his homeland, and his family was threatened because he refused to be silenced.

See also

Newspaper editor flees Swaziland for second time after arrest and police torture

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2020/03/newspaper-editor-flees-swaziland-for.html

 

‘Attempt made to poison journalist critic of Swaziland’s absolute monarch,’ editor says

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2019/12/attempt-made-to-poison-journalist.html

‘Attempt made to poison journalist critic of Swaziland’s absolute monarch,’ editor says

The Swaziland News, an online newspaper, has called for an investigation following a report that a former government minister and members of an elite group linked to the Swazi Royal Family attempted to poison its political commentator Mfomfo Nkambule after he wrote articles critical of absolute monarch King Mswati III.

Nkambule, himself a former government minister, reported he was targeted at a braai. The Swaziland News reported details of the allegation and those said to be involved. A former government minister and a billionaire businessman were among them, the newspaper alleged.

Swaziland News Managing Editor Zweli Martin Dlamini said the matter needed to be investigated. ‘That’s how they operate, they invite you for lunch or a braai and kill you while smiling. It very unfortunate that in this country you can be killed just for having a different political opinion,’ he told his own newspaper.

Nkambule had recently written a series of articles for the Swaziland News criticising the political system in Swaziland / eSwatini. King Mswati rules as an absolute monarch and political parties are banned from taking part in elections. The King appoints the government. Groups that advocate for democracy are outlawed by the Suppression of Terrorism Act.

In a recent article for the Swaziland News Nkambule wrote, ‘He [the King] has given us the status of servants in this country. As servants, we do not have any right whatsoever. We have no right to vote, no right to form political parties, no right to form a government of our choice, no power to legislate and to appropriate resources. We need a referendum on the King!’

He added, ‘The King has failed us as a people, and we are no longer proud of him as our King.’

He wrote, ‘The Swazi King should not practice deceit, dishonesty, corruption, nepotism, dictatorship, greed, hatred, prejudice, extortion and all the bad things that happen under the sun.’

Nkambule has been a critic of the political system in Swaziland and the role of the monarch for many years.

He attracted international attention in 2008 and 2009 for outspoken articles he wrote each week in the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.

Nkambule specialised in criticising Swazi Royalty and the traditionalists who supported the King.

Nkambule, who had formerly been Health and Social Welfare Minister appointed by the King, was hauled in by Swaziland’s state police and threatened with torture if he continued to criticise the King. He was later dropped from his traditional regiment, threatened with banishment from his homeland, and his family was threatened because he refused to be silenced.

In January 2009, he told the Times he had been taken in by state police. ‘They questioned me over the articles I have been writing. I was also warned that the articles were now taking a subversive slant and cautioned me that I was now skating on thin ice.’ 

The Times reported, ‘He said they impressed upon him that the articles were no longer just a column but were starting to hit on the authorities and could incite people to revolt against the head of state [the King] and this was beginning to pose a security threat.’

‘Nkambule said the officers informed him that as much as the country had a new constitution, there were still laws that could be used against him, which were enacted before independence and they had very serious consequences.’

In April 2009, the Times dropped his column without notice.

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) Swaziland chapter reported at the time that the Times’ Managing Editor Martin Dlamini denied he was under any pressure from state authorities. Dlamini said Nkambule’s column had simply been affected by the routine changes the newspaper was making with regards to content. 

The ban on Nkambule came in the same week that the Times was forced to make an abject apology to King Mswati after publishing an essentially correct report that he had purchased up to 20 armoured cars for the use of himself and his wives.

After he was dropped by the Times, Nkambule published his own online blog.

See also

‘Times’ drops Swaziland dissident

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/05/times-drops-swaziland-dissident.html

Swaziland dissident attacks king

https://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2009/06/swaziland-dissident-attacks-king.html