A threat by a
Swaziland High Court judge to jail journalists that criticise decisions made by
the law courts has hit home.
Chair of the Swaziland
Editors’ Forum Mbongeni Mbingo declined to comment on the statement by Judge Mpendulo
Simelane for fear of committing a
contempt of court.
Mbingo had been
asked by local media to comment on the jailing
for two years of Bheki Makhubu, editor of the Nation magazine, and Thulani Maseko, a human rights lawyer and
writer. The pair had written articles critical of Chief
Justice Michael Ramodibedi and the Swaziland judiciary.
Passing sentence Judge Simelane
said that publishing articles in the Nation
critical of the judiciary was ‘a defiance campaign against the Courts and the
administration of justice. The Courts have an obligation to discourage such
conduct in the interest of the stability of our country.’
He added, ‘No one, I repeat, has a right to write
scurrilous articles in the manner the Accused persons did. Such conduct destroys public confidence in
the Courts, without which this country cannot function effectively. The Courts hence have to use the very
ammunition of Contempt of Court in self-protection from journalists like the
Accused persons.’
He added, ‘Swaziland is a sovereign state. Her laws and constitutional structures must
be respected. It is the fundamental
responsibility of the Courts in this country to ensure that this is achieved
through appropriately stiff sentences as a deterrent.’
Mbingo, who is
chief editor of the Swazi Observer
newspaper group, which is in effect owned by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan
Africa’s last absolute monarch, was reported by a rival
newspaper, the Swazi News, saying, ‘he couldn’t comment on the
judgment because doing so would probably constitute contempt of court but insisted
that he was at pains, following yesterday’s events’.
Mbingo said, ‘Bheki
Makhubu is a member of the Editors’ Forum, he is a senior editor and he is
highly regarded in the profession. Therefore, today has been a very sad day for
all of us in the profession.
‘The sentence is
alarming to us in the industry. I have been following the case as a journalist,
as editor and a colleague to Bheki, but I never saw this coming. I didn’t think
the sentence could be this drastic.’
He added, ‘I
think we will obviously have to look at it and study it as media personnel to
understand where the judge is coming from and to understand where the
infringement was in order to ensure that we don’t find ourselves in the same
situation.
‘More than anything it’s important for us to understand what we stand for as a profession; it’s important to understand our role in society. We need to perform our role in society as respectfully as we can and also as unafraid as possible.’
Meanwhile, the
Lawyers for Human Rights in Swaziland (LHRS) expressed ‘shock and disbelief’ at
the jailing of the two journalists.
Secretary of the LHRS Sipho Gumedze said, ‘The tone that was used by the court was very unfortunate. Somewhere within the judgment, the court said it wanted to send a clear message to all journalists in Swaziland. As an association, we have serious misgivings about that.
‘The use of that
tone was unwarranted.
‘The court was
supposed to confine itself to the matter at hand and not to be political and
personal because the court’s fundamental duty is to serve justice.’
Chairman of
the LHRSMaxwell Nkambule said
Judge Simelane’s sentence had dashed hopes on the independence of the judiciary
and the role of courts to uphold the Constitution.
‘True we saw it
coming but to think the court would unashamedly disrespect the basics on the
protection of rights. Such is disgusting to say the least. The court is
essentially saying there is no freedom of expression and free press,’ he said.
Vincent
Ncongwane, Secretary
General of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland (TUCOSWA), said, ‘The arrest, conviction and sentence
of Maseko and Makhubu is very unfortunate and has no space in the modern
democratic society.
‘The federation
was seriously shocked at the tone the court used when delivering the judgment,
it was scaring to say the least.’
Outside of
Swaziland, condemnation of the jail sentences was swift from international
organisations including the US State Department, Amnesty International, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the South Africa National Editors Forum, and Freedom House
See also
JOURNALISTS JAILED TO DETER OTHERS
US BACKS CONVICTED SWAZI
JOURNALISTS
JUDGE RESTRICTS PRESS FREEDOM
SUPPORT FOR CONVICTED JOURNALISTS
WHAT CONVICTED JOURNALISTS WROTE
COURT CONVICTS
EDITOR AND WRITER
EDITOR AND LAWYER
‘FACE 10 YEARS JAIL’
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