Swaziland into his chambers and charged them both with contempt of court. On 17 March, police picked up Maseko from his law firm and raided Makhubu’s home and that of his parents. Makhubu was not at either residence, so he surrendered himself the next day. In their defence, Makhubu and Maseko invoked Section 24 of Swaziland’s Constitution, which guarantees “a right of freedom of expression and opinion” and states, “A person shall not, except with the free consent of that person, be hindered in the enjoyment of the freedom of expression, which includes the freedom of the press and other media…”2 Subsequent clauses of the constitution, however, restrict this right, stating it should be balanced with a consideration of what is “reasonably required in the interests of defence, public safety, public order, public morality or public health.”3 Therefore, freedom of expression in Swaziland is not absolute and the Constitution is worded so broadly it is difficult to define, for example, what measure of public morality is being violated. Pansy Tlakulu, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information and Commissioner of the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) embarked on a fact-finding mission in Swaziland in 2014. During her visit she met the families of the incarcerated editor and columnist. However, Commissioner Tlakula was not able to visit Makhubu and Maseko as prison authorities at the Big Bend Correctional Centre refused her entry. 2 The Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland Act, 2005 section 24, sub section 2 3 The Constitution of the Kingdom of Swaziland Act, 2005 s24 ss (3) p (a). 62 So This is Democracy? 2014 The arrest and trial were marked by injustices including: a clear conflict of interest, since the presiding judge was named in one of the articles; the original arrests occurred under defective warrants; the pair were denied access to their lawyers; and the summary proceedings were conducted behind closed doors. Ultimately, the presiding Judge, Mpendulo Simelane, found Makhubu and Maseko guilty as charged and his judgement and sentencing on 17 July 2014 sent shockwaves amongst Swaziland’s media fraternity and free expression activists around the world. Simelane levied a hefty fine of US$10,000 on both the Swaziland Independent Publishers and The Nation - fining both a publisher and publication was previously unheard of in the jurisdiction. And, he went on to convict Makhubu and Maseko to two years in jail without an option of a fine. This came in the wake of the May 2014 Supreme Appeal Court sitting, where the judges set precedent in another case involving Makhubu and the Swaziland Independent Publishers. Both were charged on two counts of contempt of court for two articles in The Nation, one published in November 2009 (count one) and one published in February 2010 (count two). The appeal judges overturned the conviction for count one, saying The Nation was asserting its constitutional right to freedom of expression. On the second count, they reduced Makhubu’s harsh sentence of two-years in jail to a fully suspended sentence of three months and reduced the US$20,000 fine against the publisher to US$3,000. While the judge reduced the severity of the sentence, the court’s devastating attitude toward media freedom was clear. In his ruling, Judge Simelane said, “press