air after interviewing Manzini North Member of Parliament, Jan Sithole. This interview was of public interest because it concerned the loss of the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA). If a politician makes reckless statements, the politician will always make it the journalist’s problem. Swaziland Television Broadcasting Corporation (STBC) Chief Executive Officer, Bongani Austin Dlamini suspended three media practitioners from the stated owned television station. Editor-inchief Nathi Mabusela, reporters Zodwa Dlamini and Mbongwa Dube were suspended for turning up late to an assignment where the ICT Minister Dumisa Ndlangamandla was representing the Deputy Prime Minister. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION Efforts to pass Freedom Information Bill stalled Swaziland does not have legislation guaranteeing access to public information and both ordinary members of the public and journalists find it very difficult to obtain such information. The Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Bill of 2007 is still in draft form and efforts to pass it into legislation have stalled. The current draft of the Bill is not ideal and features a number of impediments to accessing to public information, such as high costs. State officials routinely use clawbacks like those found in the Constitution’s Section 24 (3) – including defence, public safety or public order – to stop journalists and others from accessing information. For example, when the brother of a youth committee leader in Swaziland was allegedly shot by game rangers in early 2014, police refused to allow the family access to the post-mortem report. The youth committee leader and his family made verbal and written requests for the information, but the police clearly stated they will not release the information because it belongs to the state.5 BROADCASTING Members of parliament banned from communicating on state radio Since 2013, Prime Minister Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini has banned members of parliament from using the state radio station, which has the broadest reach of all the stations in the country, to communicate with their constituencies. Cabinet ministers, however, are allowed to use the radio station at any time. FREE EXPRESSION ONLINE Internet a relatively safe platform for expression in Swaziland The 2010 Electronic Communications Act allows the state to access and moni5 Case study recorded during an October 2014 workshop in Swaziland, held by MISA Regional Secretariat and MISA Swaziland. The case study is documented in the report of the workshop and the MISA Swaziland Access to Information Advocacy Strategy. So This is Democracy? 2014 65