6ZD]LODQG ,QWURGXFWLRQ The more things change, the more they stay the same. This proverb aptly describes the unchanged media environment in the Kingdom of Swaziland. Nothing has changed in the seven years since the adoption of a new Constitution in 2005. Section 24 of the Constitution guarantees freedom of expression, including freedom of the press and other media, yet in reality this freedom remains largely theoretical. The three seats of power – government, big business, and media owners – continue to violate the constitutional rights of citizens to freedom of expression. In defiance of the kingdom’s supreme law, they maintain a stranglehold on the media. On top of the 32 media restrictive laws, plus the draconian Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008, the government has invoked the Public Service Announcement (PSA) guidelines to further suppress dissenting voices in the state broadcast media. 2012 saw but one promising media development. The Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) finally tabled the Swaziland Communications Bill of 2010 in Parliament 6R7KLVLV'HPRFUDF\" since the signing of the controversial Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) between the Swaziland Posts and Telecommunications (SPTC) and Swazi MTN Limited fourteen (14) years ago. This Bill seeks to liberalise the airwaves and introduce an independent regulatory regime in the state-controlled communications industry. In the year under review, the Constitution faced its most telling test. Attorney General Majeh’enkhaba Dlamini, acting on instruction from the Chief Justice, opened a case of contempt of court against The Nation magazine after it ran a story calling on judges to inject a dose of judicial activism into the justice system, in line with the constitution. The Nation, published monthly, calls for entrenching a culture of constitutionalism and democracy in Swaziland, an absolute monarchy hiding in the clothes of constitutional democracy. The Attorney General, however, revealed that Swaziland is not yet ready for true democracy, and it is the prerogative of the executive (and therefore not the judiciary) to entrench a culture that respects the legal system. The print media also felt a few shocks in 2012, as newspaper owners increasingly tried to ingratiate them-