Swaziland bans City Press?
2010-08-11 14:04
Johannesburg - The City Press appears to have been unofficially banned in Swaziland for covering the royal sex scandal involving one of the 14 wives of absolute monarch King Mswati's III and a minister.
Swaziland security forces were apparently instructed to buy all copies of the City Press that ran the story over the past two weeks, while at least one person was arrested for making copies of the story.
“There were reports that people could not get the paper last weekend in Swaziland, and our sources...also called on Tuesday asking if we know that we have been banned," said City Press executive editor Japhet Ncube on Wednesday. "Our lawyers are looking into this issue and steps will probably be taken if it's true, otherwise there is no official report on this.”
Spokesperson for the Swaziland chapter of the Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Swaziland), Mike Motsa, said there was no law the Swaziland authorities could use to ban City Press or any other paper.
“Yes, there are rumours that City Press has been banned from circulation in the kingdom, but I don't think there is any truth to that. If it is true, we will condemn this and call for the unbanning of the paper based on the fact that there is no legislation calling for banning of newspapers that report negatively about the royal family,” said Motsa on Wednesday.
Sex scandal
Motsa said the only way authorities could stop the circulation of City Press in Swaziland, was by buying all the newspapers when they hit the streets.
According to spokesperson of the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), Lucky Lukhele, a 31-year-old man from Manzini was arrested for making photocopies of the story.
He said the man, Sibusiso Mhlanga, was a member of the banned Swaziland Youth Congress, and was arrested on August 1 on the day the first story about the sex scandal ran in the City Press.
“He was found with copies of the story, which he had made from a regular photocopying machine. Police told him the newspaper had been banned in the country and therefore he was not allowed to duplicate it," said Lukhele.
He claimed that Mhlanga was questioned as to where he'd got the copy of the paper and why he was making copies of the story.
He said police also interrogated Mhlanga to find out the whereabouts of exiled members of the People's United Democratic Movement, which is also a banned organisation in the kingdom.
In the end, he was charged under copyright laws.
Meanwhile, the man accused of having sex with Inkosikati LaDube, Ndumiso Mamba, has since resigned as minister of justice and constitutional affairs.
Lukhele has urged Swazi citizens to treat Mamba as an ordinary citizen who has committed no crime.
Ordinary citizen
He said the SSN was investigating unconfirmed reports that Mamba had been rearrested and handed over to the army for interrogation, as a punitive measure.
“While we are in the process of confirming if these reports are true, we urge all comrades to treat Mamba as the ordinary citizen who has committed no crime,” said Lukhele.
While the royal sex scandal hasn't been covered in the Swaziland media, South African Sunday newspapers City Press, Sunday Sun and the Sunday Independent have reported on it.
Lukhele said authorities have appeared to target City Press only, believing it is more widely read in the kingdom.
Spokesperson for the Swaziland government, Macanjana Motsa, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday because she was in a meeting.