SACKED Swaziland editor Bheki Makhubu applied for permission to leave the small southern African kingdom on Monday to prepare a defense against criminal defamation charges. Makhubu was arrested two months ago after publishing a report branding absolute monarch King Mswati III’s latest fiance a school dropout. The report in the independent Swaziland Times on Sunday detailed how Senteni Masango, 18, chosen to be Mswati’s eighth wife at the annual Umhlanga Reed Dance, was forced to drop out of two separate schools because of disciplinary problems. The government has not disputed the accuracy of the report but insists it defamed the King and therefore constitutes a criminal offence. Makhubu was subsequently fired from the Times Group of Newspapers owned by African Echo Publishers on insubordination charges and arrested by the Royal Swaziland Police. He faces up to six years jail and a cash fine if found guilty.