42 Former editor of the Swaziland News, Zweli Martin Dlamini CREDIT: CPJ journalists was organised by MISA Swaziland to equip journalists with skills on how to report on the virus. The acting Minister of ICT, Senator Manqoba Khumalo, who attended the workshop, said it was critical that media practitioners disseminate balanced, factual and credible information on the precautionary measures of Covid-19. (61) A month later, on 23 April, Eugene Dube, journalist and editor of Swati Newsweek Online, was detained for seven hours by police following his publication of an article about the king’s public health strategy in the face of Covid-19. (62) A former editor of the Swaziland News, Zweli Martin Dlamini, also went into exile in South Africa because in Eswatini, police wanted to arrest him for a story that he covered. (63) He had written that the king was sick and had contracted Covid-19. The state denied temporary broadcasting licences to Shiselweni Community Radio and Lubombo Community Radio to raise awareness of Covid-19 and improve health education in their constituencies. (64) In denying the licence applications, the Eswatini Communications Commission cited the Covid-19 lockdown, the Broadcasting Guidelines of 2017 and the lack of a Broadcasting Act as the reason it could not issue licences. (65) MEDIA AND GENDER Zweli Martin Dlamini, the editor of Swaziland News, an online publication, also fled to South Africa following his arrest and torture by the police. (60) In light of these persecutions, Dewa Mavhinga, the Southern Africa Director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), called on activists and journalists to vigorously petition international bodies to which Eswatini belongs, including SADC, African Union, ILO, UN HRC, Commonwealth; and key neighbouring countries like South Africa with significant economic and political influence over Eswatini, as a way to protect themselves. IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC During the pandemic, a workshop for One of the key objectives in the country’s National Development Strategy (NDS) 2022 is to promote equality and empower women. While women are in the majority, they are marginalised and underrepresented in leadership and decision-making positions. Noxolo Nkabinde, a female journalist in Eswatini cited by MISA in 2015 as one of the women to watch, said there are no female role models in the media industry and without successful women in media to look up to, women in media may be extinct in the future. (66) It is not clear how many media houses have gender policies within their organisations. (67) Women remain vulnerable and exposed to abuse by fellow colleagues, powerful business people and also government officials. Allegations raised against the late former Prime Minister Barnabas Dlamini, are that he demanded sex from female journalists during international trips.