T here was very little change on the media front in Swaziland during 2005. During the second half of the year, however, a hard-won national constitution enshrining a Bill of Rights was finally passed by parliament and assented to by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. But even as the nation was celebrating the completion of a constitutional reform process that took almost a decade, there was uncertainty as to whether the constitution would come into force immediately or at a later date. This was because the King, upon assenting to the document on July 26 2005, mentioned that it would only become operational in six months’ time. The intervening six months, he said, were to create an enabling environment as well as to finalise the logistics of implementation. Will government respect the constitution? Determining the constitution’s commencement was a litmus test for government to be seen to have restored the rule of law in the wake of a crisis it created when it refused to respect and abide by two rulings of the Court of Appeal in 2002. In one of these rulings, the Appeal Court ruled that the Non-Bailable Offences Order was invalid, and ordered government to grant bail to suspects charged under this law. In the second ruling, the Appeal Court ruled in favour of families evicted in 2000 for political reasons, to return to their homes in rural Macetjeni and KaMkhweli. In protest of government’s refusal to respect these court orders, the judges of the Appeal Court resigned. Although government, under a new Prime Minister, publicly pronounced the restoration of the rule of law in 2003, the judgements of the Court of Appeal remained in abeyance, which created much public scepticism as to whether government would even respect the constitution. Media and new constitution For the media, the date of the constitution coming into force was important because it enshrined among others, freedom of expression and freedom of the press. The constitution also annulled 32 media-unfriendly laws that were contrary to fundamental human rights and freedoms as articulated in the Bill of Rights. But how far this will be translated into reality remains to be tested. This is particularly so because the new constitution further entrenches the political hegemony with the King exercising executive, legislative and judicial authority. Constitutional experts have already indicated contradictions in the constitution, especially as it relates to the Bill of Rights. They point out that, while it gives fundamental human rights and freedoms, it also takes them away. For example, the constitution recognises freedom of association, but political parties are still outlawed. This was evident when government refused to register the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress, one of the country’s oldest political parties but outlawed by the 1973 King’s Proclamation, which criminalised all rights and freedoms. Dawn of constitutional era After much public debate and uncertainty, the constitution finally became operational on February 8 2006. However, it is envisaged that it will take up to a year for its impact to be felt since certain organs, such as the Commission on Human Rights and Public Service, will take that long to be established. This could mean things will remain the same as during the pre-constitutional era, and journalists will have to tread carefully over the minefield of media-unfriendly laws and a government hostile to open democratic principles. So This Is Democracy? 2005 -108- Media Institute of Southern Africa