SWAZILAND’s embattled editor of the Sunday edition of the Times of Swaziland had his R3000 bail extended on Monday after appearing briefly in the Mbabane magistrate’s court on criminal defamation charges. Bheki Makhubu was arrested just over one week ago after publishing a story and photograph saying that the new fiance of the small country’s ruler, King Mswati III, was a high school dropout. The article questioned whether 18-year-old Senteni Masango was a suitable role model as a future queen and Queen Mother of the Swazi nation. Masango was chosen as Mswati’s eighth wife at the annual Umhlanga Reed Dance last month. Mbabane Principal Magistrate, Kenneth Nkambule, agreed to extend Makhubu’s bail but said the 29-year-old editor would have to appear in court on a weekly basis until his case was placed on the country’s High Court roll. The Times of Swaziland formally relieved Makhubu of his position at a disciplinary hearing on Thursday and appointed the paper’s daily news editor, Vusie Ginindza, as new acting editor. It is still unclear whether Makhubu has resigned from the company or is merely suspended from duty.