That time Eswatini made checking your bae's phone illegal
Back in 2022, Eswatini introduced a bill making snooping on your partner's phone illegal. Imagine how many relationships could be saved if SA did the same thing?!
Eswatini is our charming neighbour known for its scenic landscapes, unique culture, and outlawing phone snooping back in 2022!
Yep, if you were planning to channel your inner detective and scroll through your partner’s WhatsApp chats in Eswatini, you might be looking at some serious legal consequences, including jail time or a fine of up to 300,000 SZL (1 SZL = 1 ZAR).
Let’s rewind a bit to the implementation of the Computer Crime and Cyber Crime Act of 2022. It wasn’t just a fancy name for a law; it was Eswatini’s bold attempt to tell everyone, “Mind your business; literally.” This law made it illegal to access someone’s phone without permission, including DMs, emails, and even those cringe selfies no one was supposed to see.
WATCH: The Kingdom of Eswatini/Swaziland has enacted a law that bans touching someone's cellphone without his or her permission.
— Sihle Mavuso (@ZANewsFlash) December 18, 2024
The law has been signed off by King Mswati III, and it is meant to protect people's private data.
It includes the ban on accessing other electronic… pic.twitter.com/PvdkXOpOWi
While the world was still grappling with the aftermath of the pandemic, Eswatini chose violence against those nosy girlfriends, suspicious boyfriends, and overly curious colleagues.
If you touched a phone that wasn’t yours without consent, you could end up explaining yourself in court.
Imagine how embarrassing that would be:
Judge: “Why did you snoop?”
You: “Your Honour, I saw
‘Goodnight, babe’ and knew it wasn’t meant for me.”
Judge: “Guilty. Also, ouch.”
But why does this feel oddly relatable in a South African context? Maybe because South Africans have long embraced the unspoken art of “phone investigations". (Be honest, you’ve typed “I love you” into someone’s WhatsApp search bar just to see who pops up.)
Eswatini clearly saw the drama we create on a daily basis and said, “Not in out Kingdom!”
In South Africa, snooping on someone’s phone isn’t technically illegal, but it could land you in hot water if you violate privacy laws. However, the law doesn’t actually prohibit snooping.
Eswatini, however, took the moral high ground and said, “Respect each other’s privacy.” South Africa just responded with, “Privacy? Never met her.”
Honestly, South Africa could learn a thing or two. Maybe if snooping were illegal here, we’d have fewer relationship scandals trending on Twitter. No more screenshots of mysterious texts or “expose threads” revealing private details. But then again, that’s what makes Twitter so fun.
So, here’s to Eswatini for trying to keep things classy and private. South Africa, on the other hand, will continue to thrive on vibes, chaos, and investigative tendencies.
And if you’re reading this while secretly holding your partner’s phone, maybe it’s time to chill. After all, trust is way more attractive than scrolling through bae's DMs.
Well, most of the time...
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