A woman in Eswatini, a country in Southern Africa, Dumsile Dludlu, is facing up to three years in prison for accessing her husband’s WhatsApp account without his consent.
Dludlu has been remanded in custody for allegedly snooping through her husband’s WhatsApp account without his consent.
She was found guilty by Principal Magistrate Fikile Nhlabatsi at the Mbabane Magistrates Court. The act contravenes Eswatini’s Computer Crime and Cybercrime Act of 2022.
Dludlu pleaded not guilty to the charge of unauthorized access. She, however, admitted to insulting her husband.
“I did insult him, but it wasn’t as severe as what’s in the police statement,” She admitted in court.
However, reports stated that the police statement had described her insults as more severe than Dludlu acknowledged.
Dludlu’s trial is set to resume on March 10, 2025.
The Computer Crime and Cybercrime Act, in Eswatini criminalizes the unauthorized access of digital devices. And violators face fines or imprisonment of up to three years.
The Act aims to protect individuals’ digital privacy and prevent unauthorized intrusions into personal communication.
This is even as the Eswatini Communications Commission CEO, Prince Mvilawemphi, has warned against partners accessing each other’s phone.
He said, “Accessing a partner’s cellphone is now considered a criminal offence in the country, with fines reaching up to E300,000.
Eswatini, formarlly the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official name Swaziland and formerly the Kingdom of Swaziland is a landlock country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, southeast.
Eswatini is one of the smallest countries in Africa.
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