By Andrew Firmin, CIVICUS Editor-in-Chief, co-director and writer for CIVICUS Lens and co-author of the State of Civil Society Report
Two politicians have just been sentenced to long prison terms in Eswatini. Their crime? Calling for democracy.
Mthandeni Dube and Bacede Mabuza, both members of parliament (MP) at the time, were arrested in July 2021 for taking part in a wave of pro-democracy protests that swept the southern African country. A third MP, Mduduzi Simelane, remains subject to an arrest warrant after going into hiding.
Dube and Mabuza have been detained since their arrest, and have reportedly been physically assaulted, denied medical treatment and prevented from seeing their lawyers while in custody. Last year they were found guilty on charges including murder, sedition and terrorism. Now they know their fate: Mabuza has been sentenced to 25 years and Dube to 18. Since the sentencing, Mabuza, who has a medical condition that needs a special diet, has reportedly been denied food in prison.
Dube and Mabuza are political prisoners. They had no hope of a fair trial, and their criminal convictions had no basis in reality. Eswatini’s criminal justice system does the bidding of the country’s dictator and Africa’s last absolute monarch, King Mswati III. For almost four decades, Mswati has ruled his kingdom with an iron fist. Mswati is constitutionally above the law, appoints the prime minister and cabinet and can veto all legislation. He also appoints and controls judges, who are routinely deployed to criminalise those who challenge his power.
Dube and Mabuza plan to appeal but know the odds are stacked against them.
Read on Inter Press Service News