MBABANE:The insults by alleged followers of Mduduzi Magawugawu Simelane’s Swaziland Liberation Movement(SWALIMO) on Facebook has resulted to African journalists uniting and staging a demonstration in solidarity with Melisa Msweli, the Swazi Observer female journalist who was insulted and ridiculed for doing her job.
SWALIMO is a rouge political organization in eSwatini known for insulting journalists and undermining media freedom, Msweli has become the latest victim of insults merely for asking a genuine question seeking clarification from released Member of Parliament(MP) Mthandeni Dube if he was a member of SWALIMO.
The question emerged from Magawugawu’s previous statement when establishing SWALIMO who stated that, he had appointed Dube and another MP Bacede Mabuza as his 1st and 2nd Deputy Presidents.
African investigative journalists who attended investigative journalism Workshop at the Wits University in Johannesburg condemned the harassment of the Swazi Observer journalist.
But the demonstration was not only highlighting harassment of journalists only in eSwatini, other countries that include Sudan were in the spotlight.
Eswatini is facing serious threats to media freedom even from some political parties claiming to be fighting for democracy, SWALIMO is a political party known for insulting journalists who disagree with the political organization’s President Mduduzi Magawugawu Simelane who publish articles critical of Simelane and the organization.
African journalists unite and stage demonstration condemning social media insults by Magawugawu’s rouge political party SWALIMO against Swazi Observer journalist Melisa Msweli.