Eswatini: Freedom Found Wanting in Swazi Media As Economy Continues Downward Slide

18 September 2013
press release

Chatham House, a London-based international affairs think-tank, has released a new report on Swaziland, a small southern African country wedged between South Africa and Mozambique. The 42-page analysis, 'Swaziland: Southern Africa's Forgotten Crisis,' says:

"The right to freedom of expression in the constitution does not include the right of access to information. An attempt by the government in 2006 to impose legislation that would have severely curtailed the freedom of the media failed, but the media continue to be put under political pressure. The High Court's conviction in April 2013 of Bheki Makhubu, a highly respected local journalist, on charges of contempt of court sparked a wave of criticism in Swaziland and in the wider region. His conviction stems from two articles he wrote in 2009 and 2010 that were critical of the Supreme Court and the chief justice."

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