guardian.co.uk,
David Smith in Johannesburg, Monday 26 March 2012
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| King Mswati III is facing growing protests over his undemocratic regime. Photograph: Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images |
Swaziland
is planning a censorship law that will ban Facebook and Twitter users from
criticising its autocratic ruler, King Mswati III.
Africa's
last absolute monarch is facing growing protests over his undemocratic regime,
which has pushed the tiny mountain kingdom to the brink of bankruptcy.
But
Mswati's justice minister, Mgwagwa Gamedze, told the Swazi senate: "We
will be tough on those who write bad things about the king on Twitter and
Facebook. We want to set an example."
The
government was finalising a law that will make it illegal to insult the king on
social networks, Gamedze said.
The move
follows comments last week by the Swazi senator Thuli Msane over how online
activism was spiralling out of control and threatening the king's reputation.
"It's like, the moment Swazi people cross the border to neighbouring
countries they begin to go on a campaign to disrespect their own country and
king," she said. "Surely there is something that must be done with
them. There must be a law that can take them to task."
Although
internet penetration is low among Swaziland's 1.2 million people, networks such
as Facebook and Twitter have been used to organise public protests, including a
student demonstration on Monday against cutbacks in higher education.
Pius
Vilakati, spokesman for the Swaziland Solidarity Network, condemned the planned
crackdown. "The government is desperate right now. They are trying
anything to stop people talking to each other," he said. It would be
difficult for them, because people will always talk and continue to talk."
Vilakati
predicted chaos if the law was enforced: "I don't think Swazis will take
it lying down."
He said
even so-called independent newspapers in Swaziland were heavily censored by the
government. "They say there is free speech in Swaziland. But if people are
not allowed to criticise the leadership, there is no free speech."
Last month,
the sacked editor of the Swazi Observer newspaper reportedly fled the country in fear for his life.
Educated at
Sherborne school, in the UK, Mswati has 13 wives and hosts an annual reed dance
at which he can choose a new bride from tens of thousands of bare-breasted virgins.
Opposition parties are outlawed and political activists are routinely detained
or assaulted.
The king's
fortune is estimated at about $100m (£64m). There was anger last month when the
royal family and military received extra money from the national budget.
Swaziland, a former British protectorate, has the highest HIV rate in the
world, and two-thirds of the population live in poverty.
Mswati has
endured unprecedented protests because of a deepening financial crisis. Last
year, thousands of students and activists took to the streets, prompting a
forceful response from police. More protests are planned in coming
weeks.
Swaziland's
crackdown follows similar measures in Zimbabwe, where a man was arrested last
year over an allegedly subversive message he posted on Facebook. He was
later cleared of all charges.
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