• ALERT Date: October 28, 2007 Persons: Media in Swaziland Violation: Victory On October 28 2007, media owners in Swaziland finally embraced the long-awaited Media Complaints Commission (MCC), a media self-regulatory framework whose operation has been delayed by lack of firm buy-in from the media proprietors. At a meeting organized by MISA Swaziland and the Swaziland National Association of Journalists (SNAJ), media owners at last unanimously agreed to fund the operations of the MCC. They committed themselves to fund even initial costs including registering the MCC as a Trust. This will then pave the way for the MCC to be operational within a month. This positive development seeks to pre-empt a government move to pilot a media Council Bill which aims to introduce a statutory media regulation. Parliament also recently called on government to pilot the Media Council Bill within a month to regulate the media. • ALERT Date: October 10, 2007 Persons: Mbongeni Mbingo Violation: Victory On October 10 2007, Sunday Times editor Mbongeni Mbingo was cleared of contempt charges brought against him by the House of Assembly. The Select Committee found that the editor did not in any way abuse freedom of the press, but was legitimately expressing his journalistic opinion. His right to do so is enshrined in the Constitution of Swaziland under the Bill of Rights, Section 24 “The Protection of Freedom of Expression”. In July 2007, in the view of some Members of Parliament (MPs), Mbingo had acted in contempt of Parliament when he criticised the Speaker and House of Assembly for blocking a recent motion by another MP, who sought to question an alleged secret move by Cabinet and traditional authorities to amend certain clauses in the Constitution without the knowledge of the nation. A five-member Select Committee was appointed to investigate the editor and his newspaper for alleged contempt of Parliament with a view to taking punitive measures against him or the publication. If found guilty, Mbingo would have faced a maximum of two years in jail or a E4000 (approximately US$600) fine, according to recently amended Parliament Standing Orders. July 24, 2007: MISA Swaziland was summoned and appeared before the Select Committee of the Parliament of Swaziland in defence of Mbingo’s right to express himself and make his opinion known. August 7, 2007: Mbongeni Mbingo appeared before a Parliamentary Select Committee which is seeking to send him to jail for expressing himself in a recently published article. July 4, 2007: Parliament in Swaziland sought to sanction the Editor of the privately owned Times of Swaziland Sunday newspaper for expressing himself about the affairs of the House of Assembly in a recent commentary in his publication. • ALERT Date: October 12, 2007 Persons: Media in Swaziland Violation: Legislation (threatening) The Swazi media faces a new threat following a call by Parliament for government to pilot the contentious Media Council Bill within eight weeks. A Parliament Select Committee recently constituted to probe Times Sunday editor, Mbongeni Mbingo, on charges of contempt of Parliament, whilst clearing Mbingo on the charges, called on government to pilot the Media Council Bill within eight weeks of the adoption of its report by Parliament. The House of Assembly is yet to adopt and debate the report which was tabled So This Is Democracy? 2007 -92- Media Institute of Southern Africa