Committee to Protect Journalists - Swaziland

Swaziland must overturn editor's 2-year sentence, fine

2013-04-23T21:01:12Z

New York, April 23, 2013--The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Swaziland's appeals court to overturn last week's conviction of an editor for "contempt by scandalizing the court" in relation to two articles criticizing the country's chief justice.

Swaziland security forces target journalists

2011-04-12T20:37:22Z

New York, April 12, 2011--Authorities in the kingdom of Swaziland should allow the news media to report freely on anti-government protests, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today after security forces harassed at least 10 local and international journalists covering a mass demonstration demanding political and economic reform after more than two decades of rule by King Mswati III.

Swaziland prime minister threatens to censor columnists

2010-10-22T19:52:09Z

New York, October 22, 2010--The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a recent statement from Swaziland's Prime Minister, Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, announcing his intention to create a law requiring newspaper columnists to seek permission before they write critically about the government.

Swazi prince threatens journalists who ‘write bad things'

2010-07-26T20:29:27Z

New York, July 26, 2010—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns death threats and outrageous claims made last week by a member of Swaziland’s royal family against local journalists over their critical coverage of the country's leadership.

SWAZILAND: Pastor threatens journalists over story

2007-03-02T17:00:00Z

March 2, 2007
Posted March 29, 2007

Martin Dlamini, Times of Swaziland
Nhlanhla Mathunjwa, Times of Swaziland
THREATENED

Managing editor Dlamini and reporter Mathunjwa of the leading independent daily Times of Swaziland in the central commercial town of Manzini were threatened with death by Catholic pastor Justice Dlamini over a story critical of the pastor, according to the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) and local media reports.

Attacks on the Press 2003: Swaziland

2004-03-11T17:01:25Z

King Mswati III, ruler of Africa's only absolute monarchy, retained tight control over the media in this tiny southern African nation in 2003. In April, newly appointed Information Minister Abednego Ntshangase announced a censorship policy for state media, saying that "the national television and radio stations are not going to cover anything that has a negative bearing on government." Ntshangase specifically indicated that state broadcasters would not be allowed to cover the controversy surrounding the government's plans to purchase a luxury jet for King Mswati.

Information minister announces new censorship policy

2003-04-11T16:00:00Z

New York, April 11, 2003—Recently appointed Minister of Information Abednego Ntshangase announced on Tuesday, April 8, a new censorship policy for state media in the southern African kingdom of Swaziland.

Speaking at his first appearance under his new portfolio before the House of Assembly, Ntshangase told parliamentarians, “The national television and radio stations are not going to cover anything that has a negative bearing on government.” Ntshangase warned that those who do not support government policies will be barred from broadcasting their views, the Integrated Regional Information Networks, a U.N. news service, reported.

Attacks on the Press 2001: Africa Analysis

2002-03-26T17:12:05Z

Silence reigned supreme in Eritrea, where the entire independent press was under a government ban and 11 journalists languished in jail at year's end. Clamorous, deadly power struggles raged in Zimbabwe over land and access to information, and in Burundi over ethnicity and control of state resources. South Africa, Senegal, and Benin remained relatively liberal from a press freedom perspective, while corruption and fear pervaded newsrooms in Mozambique and Togo.

Attacks on the Press 2001: Swaziland

2002-03-26T17:01:55Z

Absolute ruler King Mswati III learned just how small the global village can be when he signed a June 22 media decree that was immediately denounced by human rights organizations and governments worldwide.

Decree No. 2 made it a seditious offense, punishable with a 10-year jail term, to "impersonate, insult, ridicule, or put into contempt" the king, tribal chiefs, and state officials. The decree allowed the banning of publications without appeal, removed bail for a number of press offenses, and raised penalties for libel. It also upheld a ban on the political opposition and the suspension of the Swazi Constitution, both in place since 1973.

Royal decree expands state power to ban publications

2001-05-12T04:00:00Z

July 5, 2001

His Majesty King Mswati III
C/o Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of Swaziland to the United Nations
New York, NY 10022
Via Fax: 212-754-2755

Your Majesty:

CPJ is deeply concerned about your June 22 decree expanding the Swazi government's already sweeping power to ban local publications.

The decree, a continuation of the King's Proclamation of 1973, authorizes the "appropriate ministry" to ban any publication for any reason. "The minister concerned shall not furnish any reason or jurisdictional facts for such proscription," reads the decree.

Two periodicals suspended over palace coverage

2001-05-11T16:00:00Z

May 11, 2001

His Royal Highness King Mswati III
The Kingdom of Swaziland
Mbabane, SWAZILAND

VIA FAX: 268.6.43943
Your Highness:

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely disturbed by the unwarranted suspensions of the weekly Guardian and the monthly Nation, two independent publications based in the Swazi capital, Mbabane.

On May 2, police 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 Your Highness's palace. He was released after several hours.

Attacks on the Press 2000: Africa Analysis

2001-03-19T17:10:40Z

PRESS COVERAGE OF ARMED CONFLICTS CONTINUED TO STIR THE HOSTILITY of governments and rebel factions alike and claim reporters' lives, but the prominent role of the press in the often-volatile process of democratization also brought unprecedented challenges to journalists working in Africa.

CPJ confirmed that in 2000, five journalists were killed specifically because of their work in Africa--a local reporter and two foreign correspondents in Sierra Leone, whose civil war has become the most dangerous beat on the continent; a city reporter in Somalia who was killed by robbers' stray bullets; and an investigative journalist in Mozambique who was murdered by unidentified assassins.

Attacks on the Press 2000: Swaziland

2001-03-19T17:01:35Z

WITH NO LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF SPEECH, journalists in Swaziland are at the mercy of a government that actively discourages critical reporting about the royal family and the political system in general.

King Mswati III is Africa's last absolute monarch. He rules by decree, maintaining a decades-old ban on political parties and labor unions. A Constitutional Review Commission started writing a new constitution in 1996, but had not yet produced a draft by year's end. Local media were banned from covering its work.

Swaziland: Press Freedom Organizations Issue Joint Letter of Protest

2000-07-12T16:00:00Z

July 11, 2000
H.E. Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini
Prime Minister of Swaziland
Mbabane, Swaziland

VIA FAX: 268.6.43943

Your Excellency:

We, the undersigned organizations, are deeply concerned about the state of freedom of the press in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Over the past nine months, media workers in Swaziland have experienced serious attacks on their right to freely report on matters in the Kingdom, consequently undermining the right of Swazi citizens to receive and impart information as enshrined in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Attacks on the Press 1999: Swaziland

2000-03-22T17:01:50Z

The kingdom of Swaziland does not have a written constitution and is presently governed through a decree passed in 1973 by King Mswati III's predecessor, King Sobhuza II. The decree limits freedom of speech and the press by banning all political activity and organizations. The Swazi government discourages critical reporting about the royal family; many journalists practice self-censorship when covering the monarchy and national security policy.