Swaziland – 18 November 2014
Bheki Makhubu fighting for freedom
INCARCERATED Nation Magazine Editor Bheki Makhubu, who is currently serving a two-year custodial sentence for having authored articles purported to be contemptuous and scandalising the court, has since filed an application at the High Court to be released on bail pending appeal.
Makhubu and his co-accused Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko were convicted and sentenced by High Court Judge Mpendulo Simelane on July 25, 2014.
Meanwhile, Maseko resolved not to move such an application before the very same judge who convicted him, on suspicion that it would serve no purpose. The Swazi Observer
Taking Stock of the Media in Swaziland – Misa Partners With Unesco On Media Development Research
Freedom of expression was at the heart of discussions at a UNESCO-supported round table on assessing the media landscape in Swaziland, which took place in Mbabane on 30 October. The round table, organized by the Swaziland Chapter of the Media Institute for Southern Africa (MISA), with funds from UNESCO’s International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), marked the start of a comprehensive assessment of the country’s media landscape. all Africa.com
Anti-Terror Act in Spotlight Again
A trade union leader in Swaziland whose house was raided by 30 armed police officers has been charged with sedition after they allegedly found pamphlets from banned organisations.
The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN), which is also banned in Swaziland, where King Mswati III rules as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch, and political parties are not allowed to contest elections, reported, that Sifiso Mabuza, the Deputy Secretary of Siteki Branch of the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT), appeared at Siteki Magistrates Court on Wednesday (12 November 2014) and was remanded back into custody until 24 November 2014. All Africa
JOBS GALORE IN SA FOR FORMER TEX RAY WORKERS
MANZINI – Its jobs galore in South Africa and Lesotho for the retrenched 1 450 workers of the Tex Ray Factory.
Workers unions in the two countries are currently busy assisting interested employees with documents to legalise their employment in both states.
According to the Amalgamated Trade Unions of Swaziland (ATUSWA) Secretary General, Wonder Mkhonza, the South African Textile Workers Union (SATWU) has agreed to assist all Swazis currently working illegally in factories located in Newcastle, SA to get work permits.
Mkhonza mentioned that their counterparts in Lesotho revealed that there were no reports yet of Swazi migrant workers employed illegally in factories in that country, though they were willing to assist. Times of Swaziland