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to cover marches taking place this week
in Swaziland to commemorate the 39th
anniversary of the 1973 King’s decree
that enslaved and imprisoned Swazis.

$OHUW

Date: July 18, 2012
Person/ institution: Swazi Observer
Violation/ issue: Censorship
On July 15, 2012, the Swazi Observer issued letters of suspension to its Editor,
Thulani Thwala, its Weekend Editor, Alec
Lushaba, and the Newspaper’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Senior Manager, Mr. Nkabindze. No explanation was
given for the suspension. Both editors
have been suspended for one month and
await the outcome of an investigation
into the matter. National Director of the
Swaziland Chapter of the Media Institute
of Southern Africa (MISA Swaziland),
Comfort Mabuza, has condemned this
development, branding it a clandestine
action to silence the editors and prevent
them from the informative and critical
reporting that they are known to facilitate in Swaziland.



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$OHUW

Date: July 19, 2012
Person/ institution: Swazi Observer
Violation/ issue: Other
The managing director of Swazi Observer
has stated that staff of the newspapers
should restore the original mandate of
the newspaper. He was addressing His
staff following the suspension of the
editors of the paper Thulani Thwala and
Alec Lushaba. In his address, he told the
staff that every newspaper in the world
has its own mandate which the owners
and shareholders wants it to achieve and
carry out. He then urged the employees
to remain calm, be forever dedicated to
their jobs, and make the paper succeed
as it has a great future.

$OHUW

Date: September 12, 2012
Person/ institution: Swazi TV
Violation/ issue: Censored
Two journalists at the state-censored
Swazi TV were suspended from work for
allowing an unauthorised item about
King Mswati III to appear in a news bulletin. It concerned the traditional Umhlamga Reed Dance that took place last
week. A news report about the event
sourced from Channel France International (CFI) did not give the king enough

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