The basis of journalism as the fourth estate and a watchdog for corruption and injustice brings an unequivocal responsibility for journalists to be equally skilled and hard-working as they are virtuous and ethical, today we speak to someone who has been hard at work unrooting that, one headline at a time.
Sibusiso Dlamini has built his career asking difficult questions and following stories wherever they lead.
From exposing corruption and scrutinising public institutions to reporting on health, governance and environmental issues, the investigative journalist has become one of the country's most recognised voices in public interest journalism.
Most people know Dlamini through his byline long before they know anything about the man behind it.
Whether he's unpacking questions of governance, public spending, environmental issues or public health, the Eswatini Observer investigative journalist has built a reputation for following stories long after the headlines have faded.
But beyond the investigations and political reporting is someone who still gets excited by a well-written novel, loses hours to podcasts and documentaries, and believes the best conversations are the ones that make complicated issues feel simple.
Fresh from a journalism and AI workshop, Page 6 caught up with Dlamini to talk about technology, storytelling, music, travel and why asking difficult questions is still the part of the job he enjoys most.
Q&A
1. You've spent years asking other people the tough questions. What's it like being the one in the hot seat for once?
Sibusiso Dlamini: It’s uncomfortable, if I’m honest. Journalism teaches you to not be the center of attention because the story should be, not the journalist. So sitting on this side of the conversation feels slightly unnatural.
But I also think it’s healthy. Every now and then it’s worth experiencing what that actually feels like.
2. You recently attended a journalism and AI workshop. Without getting too technical, what's one thing about AI that excites you and one thing that genuinely makes you pause as a storyteller?
Sibusiso Dlamini: What excites me is that AI gives journalism something we’ve never really had enough of time. Time spent searching through archives, organising documents and connecting information is time you aren’t spending focusing on work that includes the actual reporting.
So using AI tools to take care of more of that sort of ground work allows us to spend more time asking better questions, knocking on more doors and finding stories that would otherwise remain buried.
What makes me pause is when the attempt for efficiency at a low budget starts replacing judgement.
Journalism isn’t simply about producing information faster. It’s about gatekeeping deciding what deserves to be published, how to frame it and how to shape discourse. Those decisions are still deeply human.
3. There’s been a lot of debate about whether AI is helping journalism or hurting it. Where do you personally draw the line between using AI as a tool and losing the human voice?
Sibusiso Dlamini: The line is surprisingly simple. If AI starts making editorial decisions, we’ve crossed it. If we use it as a tool to improve what we do and how we present it to our audiences, we should be fine.
I think every newsroom should embrace AI because it is undoubtedly changing how we work. But our values should remain non-negotiable. Accuracy. Fairness. Context. Verification.
Those have to remain the responsibility of journalists, not algorithms. Technology should strengthen editorial judgement, never replace it.
4. Outside of breaking news and investigations, what does Sibusiso Dlamini actually consume? What are you listening to, watching or reading when you're off the clock?
Sibusiso Dlamini: These days I’m trying to do something I neglected for almost a decade, read fiction again.
Journalism fills your life with reports, court papers, audit documents and policy papers. You become so accustomed to reading for information that you almost forget what it feels like to read simply because a story is beautifully told.
So I’m trying to get back to novels. At the moment I’m reading The Great Gatsby. Good fiction teaches rhythm, dialogue, pacing and character. Those lessons are important in story structure in journalism.
Apart from that, I’m usually listening to podcasts or finding a good documentary whenever time allows.
5. You’ve mentioned being a fan of Joe Budden’s podcast. What is it about his style of conversation that keeps you coming back, and has it influenced how you approach The Open Word Podcast?
Sibusiso Dlamini: Absolutely. Joe has an ability to make complex subjects feel like discussions you'd naturally have with friends. That’s harder than it looks.
That became one of the inspirations behind The Open Word Podcast. I realised there were incredibly important conversations happening every day, in Parliament, Cabinet, courtrooms and boardrooms, but many young people never felt invited into them.
We wanted to create a space where serious ideas could breathe. A place that felt more like sitting in a barbershop than attending a lecture.
If someone leaves an episode feeling they understand an issue rather than feeling they attended a seminar, we’ve done our job.
6. Speaking of The Open Word Podcast... it’s been quiet for a while. Is it taking a break, or should listeners expect a comeback?
Sibusiso Dlamini: It will definitely return. Just not as the same podcast people remember. Both my co-founder and I have changed enormously over the last few years. We’ve grown professionally, academically and personally. Those experiences naturally changed what we find interesting and how we think conversations should happen.
Podcasting also demands far more than the hour people eventually watch or listen to. The real work happens beforehand, in the reading, the research and the thinking.
For a while, life has simply demanded more of us. But I genuinely believe we’ve grown alongside our audience. When The Open Word returns, it’ll reflect who we’ve become rather than trying to recreate who we used to be.
Sibusiso Dlamini: None. The Open Word has never really been built around guests. Guests have always been a bonus rather than the point.
The podcast was created to explore ideas, not personalities. If someone joins the conversation, it’s because they genuinely help unpack an issue, not because they’re famous.
So rather than chasing one particular person, I’d rather wait until there’s a conversation important enough that the right guest becomes obvious.
8. Music seems to be a big part of your life. What’s currently dominating your playlist, and is there a song that's been on repeat lately?
Sibusiso Dlamini: Music has always been part of who I am. I grew up in a home where gospel and R&B were constantly playing, and I spent years learning the piano.
Lately I’m listening to a lot of Boldy James and Larry June.
9. You recently travelled to Brussels through the European Union Visitors Programme. Beyond the meetings and policy discussions, what was one moment that reminded you you're still just a curious guy who loves discovering new places?
Sibusiso Dlamini: It was sitting in bars, trying local food and talking to the locals. Whenever I travel, I try to understand how a place feels rather than simply what it looks like.
I want to know what people complain about, what makes them laugh, what they think their country gets wrong.
10. You’ve been a youth columnist, investigative journalist, climate advocate and podcaster. When people look back at your body of work years from now, what do you hope they say Sibusiso Dlamini stood for?
Sibusiso Dlamini: I hope they simply say that I cared. That I cared enough to ask difficult questions. That I cared enough to spend another week chasing one more document when everyone else had moved on.
That I cared enough to explain complicated issues in a way ordinary people could understand. Journalism is about leaving behind a public record that helped people make better decisions, held power to account and perhaps made the country just a little harder to lie to. If my work says that, I'd be proud of the career.
