Attacks on the Press in 2004 - Swaziland
| Publisher | Committee to Protect Journalists |
| Publication Date | February 2005 |
| Cite as | Committee to Protect Journalists, Attacks on the Press in 2004 - Swaziland, February 2005, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/47c566f328.html [accessed 23 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
2004 Documented Cases – Swaziland
JULY 18, 2004
Posted: August 16, 2004
Timothy Simelane, The Swazi Observer
Thulani Ndwadwe, The Swazi Observer
HARASSED
Simelane and Ndwadwe, a journalist and photographer at the official daily Swazi Observer, were harassed at a memorial service for a deceased local ruler known as Prince Maguga in Macetsheni, an area in central Swaziland.
According to local sources, the journalists were covering the service when Dibanisa Mavuso, a former governor, stopped them and confiscated Ndwadwe's digital camera and memory card. Attendees of the service and members of the traditional royal guard then questioned the journalists for two hours. According to the Media Institute of Southern Africa, Mavuso accused the journalists of writing negative reports about Prince Maguga. Maguga, a brother of Swaziland's absolute monarch King Mswati III, was appointed chief of Kamkhweli and Macetsheni areas in 1999.
CPJ sources said that the Swazi Observer had reported on Maguga's appointment as chief, which occurred after the king ordered the expulsion of two traditional chiefs from Macetsheni and Kamkhweli. About 100 local residents who protested the expulsion were also evicted, according to Agence France-Presse.
A source at the newspaper told CPJ that the camera and memory card had not been returned, and that the paper had lodged a formal complaint.
