Swaziland's only independent comment magazine has been banned from a jail in the kingdom because it is 'political', while the newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati is allowed.
The Nationmagazine, which is currently at the centre of a High Court case involving freedom of the media, is banned at Zakhele Remand Centre, where a number of pro-democracy activists are in jail awaiting trial.
The ban came to light after visitors to the remand centre took a copy of the magazine and copies of Swaziland's only two daily newspapers, the Times of Swaziland and the Swazi Observer to give to members of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) and the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) who are incarcerated awaiting trial.
The Observer is a newspaper in effect owned by King Mswati III who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa's last absolute monarch. Media in Swaziland are heavily censored with nearly all radio and television controlled by the state. The Nation is considered to be the only truly independent journalism in the kingdom. Its editor Bheki Makhubu and a writer ThulaniMasekoare presently in court on contempt charges after writing and publishing articles critical of the Swazi judiciary.
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