SNAPSHOT SWAZILAND I n Swaziland, 2013 saw the continued criminalisation of freedom of expression. In April 2013, Swaziland Independent Publishers and The Nation magazine editor Bheki Makhubu was convicted of ‘scandalising the court’ and slapped with a hefty fine. At the time of writing this report, in 2014, Bheki has just been convicted of contempt of court, along with human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, for writing articles criticising the Swazi judiciary. The pair were sentenced to two years in prison, without the option of a fine, in what has been labelled the harshest sentence ever passed for contempt of court in Swaziland. MISA Swaziland works tirelessly to improve the country’s media environment through activities including the following: Mobilising media and citizens to advocate for media freedom On World Press Freedom Day 2013, MISA Swaziland led a protest march of print journalists, civil society groups and activists to deliver petitions to the Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs calling for an end to media freedom violations and the repeal of 32 restrictive media laws. The protesters brought to light media freedom violations in the country and as a result, King Mswati III and Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini addressed for the first time the freedom of expression issues in public. Building capacity and skills MISA Swaziland conducted a number of skill-building activities in 2013, including: • 40 Supported by the American Embassy, MISA Swaziland organised a training workshop on developing a media strategy for the civil society publicists in the country. Eighteen public relations officers, drawn from political parties, faith-based organisations, youth organisations and trade unions, participated in a two-day workshop covering media relations and media strategy. Participants were sensitized about the importance of communicating effectively to the media and packaging their messages for different media. • MISA Swaziland, in collaboration with the Cooperation for the Development of Emerging Countries (COSPE) programme, trained 14 journalists on the SADC Guidelines on Media Coverage of Elections. • As part of the Save the Children-MISA media project, MISA Swaziland trained nine journalists in a similar way for the MISA-COSPE project. The training was mostly practical and guided journalists through holding discussions with young people and capturing their voices in articles. The journalists found this method of practical learning worthwhile, and the children involved in the youth discussions were also empowered. Promoting community Broadcasting Working closely with UNESCO Windhoek Office and six communities interested in community broadcasting, MISA Swaziland launched the Swaziland Community Radio Network in July 2013. Its mandate is to lobby parliamentarians to pass a law allowing the communities to be issued with community broadcasting licenses. Launching the Media Complaints Commission In April, the Media Complaints Commission (MCC) became operational with the appointment of the Ombudsman, Jabu Matsebula. Both owners of the national newspapers, Times of Swaziland and Swazi Observer agreed on the choice of the ombudsman and to pay the running cost of the Ombudsman Office.