One of the fundamental roles and function of the media in a democratic society is to provide timely, credible and accurate information.
Initially, the inclusion of the right to information in the Constitution of 2005 was intended to foster a culture of transparency, openness and accountability, however, this was subsequently undermined by provisions that placed King Mswati above the law thus rendering the entire Supreme Law useless.
The media, as the fourth Estate, remains the watchdog and must always demand accountability from those in power without disregarding the fundamental principles of the rule of law.
It is therefore important to highlight that the general expectation suggesting that a Head of State with absolute power is immune to criticism and cannot be questioned by the media does not only undermines democratic principles but promotes a culture of impunity where injustices against the powerless are legitimized with unjust laws.
The Constitution in its current form promotes human rights including the freedom of the media, it is in fact, a ratification of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
But these rights only exit on paper because King Mswati, who is expected to be accountable to the people, is an absolute Monarch and is above the very same Constitution.
Perhaps, it is important to highlight that one of basic functions of the law is regulate human conduct while promoting peace and stability.
As the situation stands, Mswati’s conduct is not regulated by the Constitution, this means he is accountable to himself yet all political and traditional powers are vested upon him.
Maybe Mswati needs to explain or produce minutes of the meeting where Swazis bestowed on him absolute powers almost equivalent to that of God.
The media is the voice of the people and must, at all times, hold those in power, including Mswati accountable to the people.
What was the purpose of including the right to information, including the freedom of the media in the Constitution when journalists are being persecuted for being critical of the King?
Democratically, the doctrine the separation of powers promotes checks and balances and the accountability of public power.
Indeed, the separation of powers is a doctrine of constitutional law under which the three arms of government being the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary are kept separate, each arm is given certain powers to check and balance the other arms.
But in this country, we have one man by the name of Makhosetive William Mswati Dlamini who controls all the arms of Government but when it comes to accountability, journalists are not allowed to question him.
In light of the aforementioned, it is important to note that there is no way eSwatini can claim to be democratic when the person who is holding all the powers does not account to anyone.
King Mswati