THE founder of Eswatini’s Farmers Bank has launched a nearly $10 million defamation lawsuit against an independent news outlet, according to a report by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).
According to ICIJ, John Asfar and Farmers Bank are seeking damages from Swazi Bridge, a news outlet operating in exile, over articles published between 2023 and 2025 that detailed alleged irregularities in the bank’s license acquisition.
The plaintiffs claim the outlet published defamatory content “with absolutely no evidence” and “without hearing the Plaintiffs’ side,” ICIJ reports.
ICIJ notes that Asfar, a real estate developer and former owner of the Canadian hotel chain Travellers Inn, was featured in their 2024 Swazi Secrets investigation. That investigation, conducted in collaboration with seven media partners, examined leaked documents from the Eswatini Financial Intelligence Unit.
According to ICIJ’s reporting, Farmers Bank has struggled to launch operations amid a licensing dispute with the Central Bank of Eswatini. The Swazi Secrets investigation revealed that central bank officials had concerns about who controlled the venture and the source of its funding.
Court records show that Asfar accused Swazi Bridge of “exhibiting an ulterior motive” and attempting to prevent the bank from operating in the country, ICIJ reports.
In June, lawyers for Asfar and Farmers Bank proposed an extraordinary settlement requiring Swazi Bridge to transfer ownership of the outlet to their clients and retract the articles, according to ICIJ. The lawyers threatened to seek an injunction and investigate the outlet for “domestic and/or foreign terrorism,” claiming “the commercial banking sector is a matter of national security.”
ICIJ reports that Swazi Bridge’s lawyers rejected the terms, stating: “Our client would like to make it unequivocally clear that it is not for sale and will not, under any circumstances, surrender its institutional identity, editorial independence, or ownership rights.”
Editor Manqoba Nxumalo told ICIJ the outlet stands by its reporting and characterised the case as “a clear [SLAPP] suit and an abuse of the court process.” He suggested Asfar targeted Swazi Bridge because “it does not have the financial resources to fight him in court all the way,” according to ICIJ.
ICIJ reports that when questioned about the lawsuit, Asfar sent a 2,000-word response accusing the organisation of spreading a “false narrative” and participating in a Masonic conspiracy. He also accused Swazi Bridge of publishing “malicious defamatory articles” without investigating facts.
Two regional press freedom organisations — the Southern Africa Litigation Centre and the Media Institute of Southern Africa — issued a joint statement calling the legal action a SLAPP suit that “targets speech concerning a matter of public interest,” ICIJ reports.
The statement urged strengthening legal frameworks, “so meaningful public discourse can flourish.”
