Swaziland
Crackdown on two Swazi papers widely condemned  

afrol News, 14 May - Two Swazi newspapers have been banned for reporting on national topics that had already made international headlines. Several international media organisations have sent their protest to the Swazi government. 

In a letter to King Mswati III, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) expressed its grave concern over the unwarranted suspensions of the weekly "Guardian" and the monthly "Nation", two independent publications based in the Swazi capital, Mbabane.

The two newspapers were banned after they had printed article about the health condition of King Mswati III and rumors that his first wife, Queen Mngomezulu, had tried to poison him. The same stories had been published in international media, including afrol News, almost two weeks earlier.

On 2 May, 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 King Mswati III's palace. He was released after several hours. 

On 4 May, the newly appointed Registrar of Newspapers, Sam Malinga, ordered the "Guardian" to cease publishing immediately, saying that the publication was not lawfully registered with his office. 

The Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA) reported that on the same day, police were deployed throughout the country to collect copies of the newspaper and magazine from selling. Other officers were stationed at Oshoek Border Post to intercept the newspaper before it was brought into the country from Middelburg, South Africa, where it is printed. The papers then were sent them to police headquarters in Mbabane. 

That week's issue of the "Guardian" included reports on King Mswati III's health, as well as on rumors 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 latest edition of the monthly "Nation" also carried similar reports. 

Lawyers for the "Guardian" filed an urgent application with Chief Justice Stanley Sapire on 4 May, seeking to recover the impounded copies of the paper and asking for injunctions against confiscation of any further copies. After hearing the lawyer's argument, Judge Sapire reserved his decision until 12 May.

Meanwhile, however, in a so-called Extraordinary Gazette Order, Information Minister Dlamini suspended both the "Guardian" and the "Nation". The minister cited 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." 

Editors for the "Guardian" and the "Nation" were due to appear in court on 11 May. 

CPJ's sources in Swaziland believe the function of the Registrar of Newspapers is to inhibit the work of the independent press. Evidence of this is the fact that the new Registrar was appointed in an ad hoc fashion on 3 May, only a day before he took action against the "Guardian". 

Malinga's position had been vacant for over forty years, sources in Mbabane told CPJ. Immediately after his appointment, he announced that only publications that had been in existence for at least five years would be allowed to register under the Books and Newspapers Act of 1963. (Only the state-owned "Swazi Observer" and the pro-government "Times of Swaziland" fit this requirement.) 

Under Malinga's order, newspapers that were launched in the past five years would have to cease operation immediately. This decision evidently targeted the "Guardian" and the "Nation", both of which were created in recent months and had obtained publication licenses from the Registrar of Companies. 

Both the "Guardian" and the "Nation" are known to support democratic government in Swaziland; both are critical of the fact that King Mswati III has governed by decree since the suspension of Swaziland's constitution in 1973. 

CPJ denounces the suspension of these two independent publications, an action the organisation believes to be part of an orchestrated campaign to root out critical voices in the kingdom.

In a letter to Minister of Information Mntonzima Dlamini, the media organisation Reporters sans frontières (RSF) also protested the suspension of the two papers. "We ask that you reconsider this decision," said Robert Ménard, the secretary-general of RSF. "It is surprising that these two publications, known for their critical tone toward the authorities, are the only ones to be punished under the 1963 Press Law," he added.

MISA condemned banning of the "Guardian" and the "Nation" on 9 May, stating its "serious concern" about "the recent and ongoing high-handed action by the Swaziland Police of harassing and intimidating journalists." Regional MISA director Luckson Chipare said he understood "this move by the government as a deliberate action on the part of the authorities to curtail and hinder the existence of an independent and pluralistic media in Swaziland. 

afrol News already on 21 April had reported on the same rumors that were printed in the Swazi press several days later. The afrol article claimed 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 told reporter Lunga Masuku "that Mswati complained of stomach cramps immediately after eating a special breakfast prepared by Mngomezulu." 

Not based in Swaziland, afrol News has however not been met by Swazi government action. 

No credible information contradicting the rumors of Mswati's poisoning and Mngomezulu's escape to the UK has surfaced since afrol News published the story three and a half week ago. Queen Mngomezulu remains in in London with her father, who is the High Commissioner for Swaziland.

Sources: Based on CPJ, MISA, RSF and afrol archives

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