Court victory for newspaper

Independent weekly, the ‘Guardian’, won a major victory on Friday when, after a four-month court battle, it had the banning order against it overturned, the Media Institute of South Africa (MISA) said in a statement on Monday.

Justice Jacobus Annandale said Swazi Public Service Minister Mntonzima Dlamini had acted wrongly when he banned the ‘Guardian’ because it had complied with all the requirements of the law. Dlamini invoked the Proscription Act of 1968 - which allows for the banning of newspapers - saying the paper was in unfair competition with other publications because it was unlawfully registered.

“Nowhere in the Proscription Act of 1968 is there any provision for the minister to regulate competition in the industry by banning of publications,” the judge said. “If the newspaper’s non-compliance with the statutory requirements are deemed to be against public interest, there are penalties under the appropriate Acts which may be imposed,” he added.

MISA said the newspaper’s board of directors would meet as soon as possible to discuss the way forward. It added that it was not clear when the paper would be available in print. In May, the Swazi government banned the ‘Guardian’ and the monthly ‘Nation’ because of their criticism of the absolute monarch, King Mswati III.