Swaziland: Businessman seek to close down newspaper

In a rare case of censorship, a Swazi has gone to court to seek the closure of a newspaper which he claims has written defamatory articles against him.

The businessman, Boyce Magongo, wants the High Court to issue an order declaring and directing Swazi Mirror, a two-year old privately-owned newspaper, to stop publishing and distributing its copies until they complied with the provisions of the Books and Newspaper Act, 1963.

According to a newspaper report by the Times of Swaziland, Magongo alleges in court papers that Swazi Mirror wrote defamatory articles against him and other members of the public.

He further claims that Swazi Mirror does not print the name and address of its printer and publisher as well as the place where it is printed in complete violation of the Books and Newspaper Act. Magongo further wants the court to order the forfeiture of all copies of Swazi Mirror circulating in Swaziland and found not in compliance with the Act.

“An investigation of the authenticity of the respondents’ legal operations in Swaziland proved overwhelmingly that they are in contravention of the Books and Newspaper Act, Section 16 which guides and regulates newspapers in Swaziland,” the businessman is quoted to have said in his court papers.

He further wants the court to direct the newspaper to produce the qualifications of its journalists.

The Swazi Mirror is defending the case which the High Court has referred to the Registrar of the High Court to take normal course for arguments.

In another matter, the Swazi Mirror is currently in court fighting another censorship battle in which a lawyer recently successfully applied for an order stopping the publication of an article implicating the lawyer in an alleged crime.