Mbabane: Embattled editor and publisher of privately owned news website, Swati Newsweek, Eugene Dube, has had his name etched in history books as the first Swati journalist and editor to be honoured by a global media organisation, the Reporters Without Borders.
This comes after the former Swazi News reporter made headlines for allegedly writing ill about the monarch, an act which according to the police constitutes high treason. On April 23, Dube was arrested by the Nhlangano police and hauled before Nhlangano Magistrate Thulani Dlamini.
According to the Swati Newsweek, Dube has been hailed as one of 30 journalists globally who have made a tremendous contribution in the fight against the coronavirus.
The online publication said the elated editor expressed his gratitude to the people who have contributed in making him the scribe he is today. “Today, I take this opportunity to thank all the individuals who have shaped my journalism career. I cannot name some of them as they are working for their employers,” the editor is quoted to have said, adding that the recognition will come as surprise to some people.
The Newsweek also reported that criticizing the King comes with serious repercussions in Eswatini and that it is very rare for people to come against him.
Narrating his experiences as journalist in the country, Dube said eversince he started writing he had been toiling to get the big story centred around the suffering of people. He said he had been labelled by many as ‘a journalist with a lion’s heart’. “Journalism is about upright people serving their societies,” Dube is quoted in the Newsweek.
30 information heroes
The publication stated that the Reporters without Borders had compiled a list of 30 coronavirus information heroes, which are journalists and whistleblowers whose media outlets have demonstrated courage, perseverance or capacity to innovate amidst this current crisis. “They have been able to circulate reliable and vital information during the covid-19 pandemic,” issues a statement from the website publication.
The publication also mentioned that Dube had been honoured after challenging the monarch over handling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mfomfo
The Newsweek also said Dube had published information that had been written by senior Swati Newsweek Online writer, Mfomfo Nkambule, which called for accountability from the government and decisive actions such as massive testing. Nkambule also called for social distancing in local hospitals and other public spaces.The publication said this advice from Nkambule fell on deaf ears as government became defensive and unleashed a battalion of police officers on Dube, who harassed and assault him for several days.
It was said the response to the article threatened Dube’s life, leading to his escape from the country and now lives in exile.
“Dube was forced to sleep in the wilderness for over five days at the height of the police raids and assault incidents,” issues a statement from the Newsweek.
Dube is said to have thanked all those journalists who played a key role in his journalism career. Said Dube; “I extend gratitude to the individuals who moulded me.”
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