This year’s third annual Eswatini Free Expression Summit drew 137 people from civil society, the media and the legal profession for a day-long discussion on the dire situation in Eswatini. As a prelude,  40 cultural workers attended a day-long workshop to talk about freedom in their sector. We launched our report, Tradition versus Constitution: The State of Free Expression in Eswatini 2024, which concluded that freedom was an “illusory fiction” in the kingdom. In a ringing declaration, conference attendees said: “We call for the lifting of restrictions on banned and proscribed political parties and trade unions. We call on the government to take measures to give equal access to free expression to groups that are discriminated against, such as women, the LGBTQI+ community and the disabled. We call on the media to play a non-partisan role in disseminating information and enabling all citizens to exercise their rights in society. Let us work together for a critical, independent and informative media that serves the public interest.”

Media coverage:

• Swaziland News
• Times of eSwatini