A journalist for Swaziland’s state-owned radio, who pretended to be broadcasting and reporting from Iraq, is to face disciplinary proceedings for misleading the public, a government representative said on Friday.
The Minister for Information Abednego Ntshangase accused the radio reporter, Phesheay Dube of painting a ”very negative picture” of Swaziland and the reporter’s actions had ”made this country to become an object of scorn”.
”The government cannot sit back when a journalist, who should be informing the nation, misleads people,” Ntshangase said, adding he would not allow ”anything like this to happen again”.
A disciplinary panel has been appointed to interview the journalist and take measures against him.
Each morning, a news presenter would give highlights of the events, sourced either from wire stories or the internet, and would proceed to link up with Dube, supposedly in Iraq, but, in reality, either at home or within the radio building.
Dube would give a detailed account of the events, pausing at intervals as if dodging bullets.
But his pretence was revealed when he was confronted by members of the public on the streets of the capital, Mbabane, wondering how he had travelled back from Iraq at such a short time.
Dube claimed his superiors had instructed him to pull off the stunt.
But Stan Motsa, managing director of the Swaziland Broadcasting and Information Services denied ever having given such instructions but said journalists were at liberty to be innovative in their bid to attract more listeners.
Despite the denial the information minister said the inquiry would also examine the possibility that other senior officers were involved. — Sapa-DPA