Swazi Lives Matter

26/08/2021

26/08/2021

LEAKED SHABALALA EVIDENCE: Judge Mumcy who is related to Mswati must recuse herself from pro-democracy MPs’ case.

BY ZWELI MARTIN DLAMINI
Swaziland News,26th August 2022

Pursuant to the fundamental principles of natural justice, it is highly expected that a Judge shall disqualify himself or herself in any proceeding in which the judge’s impartiality might be reasonably questioned.
Judge Mumcy Dlamini is closely related to King Mswati and she climbed the judicial ladder to become the Director of Public Prosecutions(DPP)before being appointed a Judge not because she was among the most intelligent lawyers in the country, but sharing a pillow with Supreme Court Judge Prince Majahenkhaba worked to her advantage.
Now, with the electronic evidence released by this Swaziland News where resigned Army Commander Jeffery Shabalala confirmed that the arrests of the pro-democracy Members of Parliament(MPs) was ordered by King Mswati, it is advisable for Judge Mumcy Dlamini to recuse herself based on reasonable believe that the MPs will not receive a fair trial.
Criminal law was meant to regulate the behavior within the society and where the law has been captured or manipulated to advance political interests by silencing dissenting voices, a Judge is expected to decide such politically motivated cases in a fair, objective and impartial manner.
Judge Mumcy Dlamini is a wife to a member of the royal family whose Head King Mswati allegedly killed dozens of civilians and subsequently ordered the arrest of these MPs.
It should be noted that based on these revelations, what transpired in court so far and the fact that the Judge is closely related to the royal family, Mumcy cannot be trusted with providing justice to the MPs.
It should be noted that the appointment of close royal family members including their wives was systematically meant to enhance Mswati’s absolute power.
As the situation stands, these MPs were arrested by Mswati disguised as National Commissioner William Dlamini, prosecuted by Mswati disguised as DPP Phila Dlamini and they appeared before King Mswati disguised as Judge Mumcy Dlamini who dismissed their bail application, that is absolute power.
An independent Judge must first decide whether or not the accused person is guilty after carefully considering all the evidence laid before him or her.
We can’t expect justice from Mumcy because she is a mere puppet of Mswati and for her to continue climbing the judicial ladder and probably become the next Chief Justice, she knows what to do, subject those opposing the King to injustice to please the authorities.
It’s a pity that there is no justice in this country, some Judges spent years studying law only to have their legal minds castrated and controlled by a ‘low minded’ King whose thinking capacity and intelligence remains questionable.
But despite the fact that legal minds of these Judges like Mumcy were long castrated and captured, they continue listening to submissions and arguments from lawyers as if they will deliver fair judgements yet they consult with Mswati first who controls their minds.
In conclusion, it is important to emphasize that Judge Mumcy Dlamini is conflicted in the case of the pro-democracy MPs by virtue of being related to Mswati who allegedly issued the order to arrest the Legislators.
But because we are in a country where the King uses his ‘kangaroo’ courts and captured Judges to silence citizens who are calling for democratic reforms, the MPs might be appearing before Mswati disguised as Judge Mumcy Dlamini.
http://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=1466

26/08/2021

Mswati Must Account for the death of our People. It remains unacceptable that our people have been shot with live ammunition, killed in cold-blood, Crippled with impunity but up to this day the govermnent has not said a word about investigations into these killings. This proves with all certainty that the poeple that killed our people are the security officers who were acting under express instructions to shoot to Kill issued by Mswati himself. To this day, the foreing media is refused accreditation to come and cover the stories of the atrocities commited By Mswati's government.

19/08/2021

Judicial capture exposed, Advocate says there is no case against pro-democracy MPs.

BY ZWELI MARTIN DLAMINI
Swaziland News, 18th August 2021
(STORY: in collaboration with The Bridge)

MBABANE: Advocates hired from South Africa to prosecute the two Members of Parliament(MPs) in Mthandeni Dube and Bacede Mabuza have written to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution warning them that there is no case against the two.
This is contained in a private correspondence between Pietermaritzburg based Advocate, Gareth Leppan SC, directed to the country’s DPP Sibusiso Gama, concedes that the state has no case against the two and that if at all they have to continue with the case the state would have to start investigations afresh.
The correspondence obviously confirms the established principle of the law suggesting that police must investigate to arrest not the other way around.
It comes after the Swaziland News revealed explosive details of the army Commander confirming that an irate King Mswati had ordered the arrest of the two MPs in Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube.
The two MP’s were recently denied bail by Judge Mumcy Dlamini, a wife to Supreme Court Judge Majahenkhaba Dlamini and a former Public Prosecutor.
Reached for comments, Siphofaneni MP Mduduzi ‘Magawugawu’ Simelane said the leaking of the memo and the audio recordings of the Army Commander where he was confirming that it was the King who ordered their arrest suggests that no matter how they tried they can’t fool the eyes of justice.
“This case was fabricated just to suffocate the people’s voice. When you listen to the electronic evidence implicating the Army Commander it is clear that the National Commissioner was under duress to arrest us”, said the MP.
Efforts to reach Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report.
But Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, a human rights lawyer said the advice from the Advocates was a huge blow to the State’s case adding that the MPs were not supposed to charged in the first place.
“This is confirmation of the fact that the charges are not legal but politically motivated. But obviously, the State is not enjoined by the law to take the advise, they may want to pursue their own political course as it appears that they are determined to. I think what has been leaked just waters down whatever the case the State think they may have”, said the human rights lawyer.
The South African based advocate went on a long detailed critique of the body of evidence presented by the DPP punching holes in various aspects of the evidence and requested the prosecution to initiate fresh investigations or collect more evidence.
“A perusal of this memorandum may reveal an inordinate attention to detail but as the matter presently stands, we do not have any evidence that implicates the suspects, one or more, in any specific offence. Various offences relating to the actions and or words of the suspects come to mind, including sedition, treason, public violence, offenses under the Suppression of Terrorism Act, incitement to commit said offenses , refusal to obey police officers’ lawful command, and even, as discussed murder. However, as it stands, no one offense has its elements fully satisfied,” reads the memo now seen by The Bridge.
The Advocate asks of the DPP to get him evidence that links the suspects to the unrests or evidence that shows that the suspects encouraged the public to defy the government order or called for the public to do away with the government.
The Advocate also expressed concerns about the manner in which the cellphones of the MP’s were confiscated and asks of the DPP to advice if this would not be challenged as the order to seize the phones was sought at the Magistrate Court and not the High Court.

NB: This story is the result of a joint effort between Swaziland News and the Bridge.
http://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=1450
https://swazibridge.com/article/index.php?iywtrre=els=

19/08/2021

19/08/2021

King Mswati suspends Judge Sipho Nkosi who tried to release murder suspect Sipho Shongwe.

BY ANDILE MBINGO
Swaziland News, 18th August 2021

MBABANE:Judge Sipho Nkosi who tried to release murder suspect Sipho Shongwe has been suspended by King Mswati after a recommendation from Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala.
King Mswati rules eSwatini as an absolute Monarch with Executive,Judicial and Legislative powers, he appoints and controls the Judges.
“In exercise of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 158 of the Constitution of Eswatini Act, I, Mswati III, King and Ingwenyama of Eswatini suspend Justice Sipho Anthony Nkosi from being a Judge of the High Court of the Kingdom of ESwatini with immediate effect” reads Legal Notice No 241 of 2021.
Judicial sources told this publication that the Judge has been suspended for granting bail to murder suspect Sipho Shongwe who is accused of killing businessman Victor Gamedze, the State appealed the decision to keep Shongwe behind bars.
“Even though the Judge is accused of misconduct among others, the truth is there are moves to fire him for refusing to take orders from the authorities,”said the judicial source.
Efforts to reach the Judge Sipho proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report.
The Judge once threatened to spill the beans in an open court during the bail hearing of the murder suspect. According to insiders, since then, the Chief Justice has been working towards removing him.
When this publication tried to reach Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala on Wednesday evening, his number was busy and couldn’t be reached.
http://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=1451

19/08/2021

SUSPENDED - High Court Judge Sipho Nkosi has been suspended from work. He has been called upon to show cause why he should not be impeached for professional misconduct. He stands to become the 4th judge to face impeachment in 10 years. This would be the highest number for a country in southern Africa.

THROWN into a fire. Our cover today carries painful images. Soldiers stand accused of throwing a man into a fire and assaulting him with kicks all over the body. This is for allegedly burning tyres on the road. The army denies knowledge of this, while the police PRO claims not to have received any report. Our detailed investigation shows images, documents and interviews. Reading our report will clearly show that denial is not going to be how this matter ends.

SILENT. The SADC Summit concluded with a Communique that was silent on the political situation in Eswatini. This has further irked an already disappointed civil society. We bring you what they plan to do next on page 4 and 5.

TWIST. This word is used in many different contexts, but none of them mean straight, straight-forward or clear. Our ongoing investigation into deduction of ICT minister Princess Sikhanyiso's salary took a new twist yesterday. The Minister took an unlawful maternity leave of about 14 months that remains unresolved in the public eye. You can get straight into the matter by turning to page 5.

BAD POTATOES. The burning and constant troubles at Mhube High school, have been blamed on the existence of bad potatoes, amongst them a certain teacher. This is according to education minister Lady Mabuza. The Minister is close to this matter, being a former educator herself. The school also falls within her constituency. This could account for the straight-talking that took place between the Minister, the school and parents that we report on.

Will this take the school forward or back? SNAT is not moved by the allegations against this teacher saying that as professionals they impart teaching that provides pupils with critical thinking ability.

MOTORING on, our featured section today is that of motorized vehicles. We present a selection of 78 used cars and 12 used trucks, plus tips on how to get the best deal when purchasing this type of vehicle.

TO RELEGATE or not to relegate. For the 4 clubs from the 1st division league facing demotion to the non-active super league, this is a hot topic. It is expected to be tabled at this weekend's AGM of the Premier League of Eswatini (PLE). It is salient because the teams expected to replace the relegated four, have not competitively kicked a ball since the advent of COVID-19.

This and more in our 48-page edition today which also captures; the flaring tempers at the Thabani Inquest; more protests and class suspensions in schools; and opinion from columnist Chris Morgan, who suggests how best dialogue can be realised to resolve the current impasse.

18/08/2021

Unprecedented state violence against protesters is making royal rule increasingly unpopular in eSwatini.

18/08/2021

06 September Holiday should be CANCELLED as a Holiday of Independence in Swaziland! Swaziland News Eswatini Live Feed Swazi Lives Matter Hon Gaw'zela touching lives.
Lives Matter

18/08/2021

18/08/2021

King Mswati forced reluctant National Commissioner William Dlamini to arrest pro-democracy MPs.

BY ZWELI MARTIN DLAMINI
Swaziland News, 18th August 2021

MBABANE: William Tsintsibala Dlamini, the National Commissioner of Police tried to protect King Mswati and the international image of the country by delaying to arrest pro-democracy Members of Parliament(MPs), however the King insisted that they must be thrown behind bars.
This is contained in an audio recording released by this Swaziland News on Monday where the Army Commander disclosed that the King questioned as to why the MPs were not arrested despite that he had long ‘issued’ a warrant of arrest.
MPs Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube were arrested and charged under the Suppression of Terrorism Act 2008 merely for leading calls for democratic reforms in Parliament while Siphofaneni MP Mduduzi ‘Magawugawu’ Simelane is wanted by the police.
Eswatini is a tiny Kingdom ruled by Mswati as an absolute Monarch with Executive, Judicial and Legislative powers, he appoints and controls Judges.
“The King is very angry that bo-Magawugawu are still not arrested yet he long ordered their arrest”, said the Army Commander who was recorded by Sergeant Cebile Shongwe.
Tengetile Khumalo, the Army Spokesperson said she had difficulty with accessing her WhatsApp messages and asked journalists of this publication to use text messages.Worth-noting is that text messages are easily traceable in a country like eSwatini that undermines press freedom.
National Commissioner of Police William Dlamini had not responded to our questions at the time of compiling this report.
On another note, insiders disclosed that the National Commissioner tried to delay the arrest hoping that the King will change his mind as the arrest would tarnish the image of the country but he insisted.
“I hope you gathered through your own investigation as I told you that the National Commissioner tried not to arrest the MPs, he was acting in the interest of both the King and the country but the King insisted” said the insider with the Police Executive Command.
Judicial sources revealed that after the arrest of the MPs Judge Mumcy Dlamini was ordered not to grant them bail, the Judge is married to Supreme Court Judge Prince Majahenkhaba Dlamini.
Emmanuel Ndlangamandla, the Executive Director of the Coordinating Assembly of Non-Governmental Organizations(CANGO) said the revelations suggesting that the arrests of individuals who are leading calls for change are now decided at political level confirms the long standing allegation that the judiciary was not independent.
“This vindicates the Law Society that has been complaining that the Judiciary is not independent and such revelations suggesting that arrests of individuals calling for democracy are decided at political level confirmed that allegation,”said the CANGO Executive Director.
http://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=1449

18/08/2021

STATE OF THE NATION! 18 August 2021

09/08/2021

News Just In: The MR3 is blocked around Eteni, Matsapha on the lane to Manzini. Protestors are burning tyres and traffic is at a standstill.

09/08/2021

09/08/2021

Judge Mumcy Dlamini’s decision to dismiss pro-democracy MPs bail application was predictable.

BY ZWELI MARTIN DLAMINI
Swaziland News, 09 August 2021

Judge Mumcy Dlamini demonstrated that she would not grant the pro-democracy MPs bail when she reserved her decision indefinitely.
Perhaps, it is important to state that a bail application by its nature is urgent and for a Judge to reserve a judgment of this nature indefinitely might result to the accused suffering psychological harm and this, I would suggest, defeats the fundamental principles and values of justice.
We reported widely that the arrest of the pro-democracy MPs came as a result of a command from King Mswati and we have proof to substantiate this and this evidence will be released soon once we are satisfied with the security of our sources .
It didn’t come as a surprise therefore, when Judge Mumcy Dlamini dismissed the bail application, she was obviously acting on the strength of a royal order from King Mswati and she needed enough time to consult with him.
It is very unfortunate that the whole country including the Judiciary is held hostage by one man whose thinking capacity was exposed during the recently held Sibaya.
We consistently reported that there was a plot to arrest these MPs on fabricated criminal charges, it’s a pity that we have Judges who are ready to compromise their integrity by legitimizing Mswati’s orders.
As the situation stands, one wonders how lawyers even file papers and make submissions on behalf of their clients knowing that these Judges are captured and will need some days to consult with Mswati only to come back with judgements branded as legitimate court decisions yet ‘covered’ with ‘Simohlwana’.
As a Nation, we will never attain freedom if we still believe we can run to Mswati’s courts for justice, some of these Judges take orders directly from him.
It is becoming a norm in this country that anyone who raises a voice and demand democracy ends up facing fabricated criminal charges, human rights organizations must start lobbying for sanctions against Mswati and his loyalists including these captured Judges.
Like political activists, these pro-democracy MPs were falsely branded as terrorists, Mumcy ,the Prosecutors and the police know very well that the is no evidence to substantiate this nonsense, however, they are pushing this to please one man at the expense of the whole country, shame on them!
http://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=1425

08/08/2021

Rare peaceful protests in eSwatini as diplomats put pressure on King Mswati to democratize, no citizen shot on Friday.

BY ZWELI MARTIN DLAMINI
Swaziland News, 06 August 2021

MBABANE: Eswatini had rare peaceful demonstrations on Friday after weeks of shooting and killing of citizens by King Mswati’s security forces during pro-democracy protests.
Eswatini, a tiny Kingdom situated in Southern Africa and ruled by King Mswati as an absolute Monarch has about 70% of the population living below the poverty line, more citizens including the elderly are now joining the growing calls for democratic reforms.
King Mswati has been reported to the International Criminal Court(ICC) for alleged crimes against humanity after his security forces shot and killed civilians, opposition parties and the civil society alleged that over 100 were killed and 200 were treated for gunshots wounds. However, so far over 70 citizens have been identified and confirmed death and the Foundation for Social and Economic Justice(FSEJ), one of the organizations that compiles the data has appealed to members of the public to report to them all relatives who lost their lives during the civil unrest.
It has been reported that as a result of the engagements between the King and the diplomats, the security forces did not use violence against the peaceful protesters. The names of the diplomatic sources cannot be revealed for ethical reasons as they are currently engaging the King privately for now.
Reached for comments, Mduduzi Gina, the Secretary General of the Trade Union Congress of Swaziland(TUCOSWA) confirmed that no protester was shot on Friday when they were delivering a petition to Parliament.
“We can confirm that there were no confrontations or any shooting by the police directed to the protesters when we marched to Parliament on Friday. Even minimum force was not used against us” , said the TUCOSWA Secretary General.
It has been disclosed that in the midst of the behind the scenes engagements between the King and the diplomats, on the 5th August 2021, Princess Tsandzile wrote a letter to the TUCOSWA approving the protest march to Parliament to deliver a petition, the King through the then Acting Prime Minister Themba Masuku had earlier banned gatherings and the delivery of petitions, he subsequently unleashed security forces to shoot and kill protesters.
“That procession will be from the assembly point to the delivery place, nowhere else.Lastly, you are further requested that this gathering should be respectful and peaceful”, reads the letter from the Hhohho Regional Administrator.
It has been disclosed that various countries through their diplomats have started putting pressure on the King to engage those calling for democratic reforms in a dialogue, this publication is in possession of electronic evidence suggesting that Mswati had ordered the arrest of three pro-democracy MPs triggering more tension.
Questions were sent to Government Spokesperson Sabelo Dlamini, however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
On Friday, residents of Hosea and Ngwempisi marched to their nearest police stations demanding the release of their arrested MPs in Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube, they were charged with terrorism as per King Mswati’s order, for demanding democratic reforms. But organisers of these protests confirmed to this Swaziland News that no one was shot and the protests were peaceful.
“It was a very peaceful march and we are happy that the elderly joined us. The elderly joined us today to send a message that they are tired of living in abject poverty with their unemployed children who are graduates. They are also demanding the release of MP Bacede who is their voice. We would like to thank the police for ensuring that the march remained peaceful”, said Norman Xaba, one of the organizers of the protests.
http://www.swazilandnews.co.za/fundza.php?nguyiphi=1415

08/08/2021

08/08/2021