MBABANE: A senior police officer identified as Mr Mabuza and Senior Superintendent Robert Gama of the Correctional Services stopped junior warders from harassing Swaziland News journalist Sicelo Mhlanga inside the High Court on Tuesday morning.
Mhlanga, who was covering the pro-democracy Members of Parliament(MPs) Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube's terrorism case was blocked by junior warders from entering the courtroom.
But in the midst of the harassment, the senior cop emerged and questioned the warders as to why they were harassing the journalist,to which the junior correctional officers responded that they were acting on orders from their superiors.
“Is there any written court order stopping the journalist from covering the case? Look, let us stop being negligent and invite trouble for the country at international level, the image of the country is under international attack these days because of such negligence.Do you know what it means to harass a journalist? Where is your superior Gama?.Is he aware of this?” said the senior cop.
When questioned by the senior cop, the junior warders accused Mhlanga of spying Judges on behalf of his editor Zweli Martin Dlamini, however, the senior cop could hear none of it demanding a written court order stopping the journalist from doing his job.
“U-spy saZwemart lona, u-recorder emaJaji”, said one of the warders.
But when Senior Superintendent Robert Gama arrived, he told the senior cop that there was no order to stopping Mhlanga from covering the court case.
“There’s no order stopping the journalist from covering the court case,so far he hasn’t violated any law.There’s only one incident where he took pictures where he was not supposed to samekhuta walalela,” said the Correctional Services senior officer.
The journalist was then allowed to cover the court case.
Swaziland News journalist Sicelo Mhlanga.