MBABANE: Prince Sicalo Nkopolo Dlamini has been granted twelve(12)hours to respond to questions from this Swaziland News on urgent articles.
This is contained in a letter dated 10th February 2022 from Swaziland News editor Zweli Martin Dlamini addressed to the Prince through his lawyers Mathapo Attorneys, Sicalo had written to the editor seeking an undertaking to be a given reasonable period of time to respond to questions.
“As you are aware, our clients are in the midst of a mediation process, in which one of the issues is the reasonableness of the opportunity afforded to your client when called upon to furnish his comment on articles intended to be published. Your demand circumvents this process and demonstrates mala fides on the part of your client”, reads letter from the editor’s lawyers addressed to Prince Sicalo through his attorneys.
The editor further mentioned that the demand by the Prince that all requests for comments should be made through his lawyers was unreasonable, impractical and incapable of implementation. “Notwithstanding this, our client has instructed us that pending the finalization of the mediation process, in respect of all articles intended to be published and which are related to your client in his personal capacity, they undertake to: afford your client a maximum period of two(2) days to respond when approached for comment if the article is not urgent. If the article is urgent, your client will be afforded a minimum period of twelve(12) hours to furnish his response”, reads the letter in part from the editor’s lawyers Bukhosi Sibanda Attorneys to Prince Sicalo’s lawyers.
The editor then dismissed Prince Sicalo’s request to have the questions sent to his lawyers but stated that he would contact Sicalo, send questions via email and copy to his lawyers.
This is not the first time the editor takes a decision that seeks to protect editorial independence, last year he rejected a demand by King Mswati, who through his lawyers from Brian Kahn demanded to be given seven days to respond to questions.
Dlamini said as the editor, the discretion to determine whether an article is urgent or not lies with him and that influences the reasonableness of time to be afforded to those implicated before they can respond.
The King then approached the High Court of South Africa seeking an order that the editor gives him ten(10) days to respond before publishing any article about him, his Government and royal family, the editor is vigorously opposing the application.
Prince Sicalo.