Don't bring back 60-Day Detention — Mfanasibili

MBABANE – Bringing back the 60-Day Detention Order would not be ideal for Swaziland, prince Mfanasibili has said.

The prince said such an oppressive law had gone past its sell-by date and, therefore, had no room in Swaziland at the present moment in view of the country having a constitution in place.

"I may be a layman when it comes to constitutional matters but I know that for laws like the 60-Day Detention Order to be brought back, the country’s constitution would have to be amended," the prince said. Former Prime Minister Obed Dlamini said talks of reviving the Order should not be underestimated because they might hold water.

"Such laws are meant to please those in power and the international community would do nothing about it as has been seen with the situation in Zimbabwe, where organs like SADC have proven how toothless they really are," Dlamini said.

Dlamini said even countries like the United States brought about the Terrorism Act much against dictates of the constitution and no one did anything about the situation, which proves that Swaziland could also do the same.

Prince Mfanasibili accused the former Prime Minister Obed of being responsible for his incarceration under the infamous 60-day detention order. The prince claimed that the former premier was solely responsible for his detention without trial, yet he claimed to be a member of the country’s progressive formations. The prince, who is a former liqoqo strongman, said what made him more furious at Dlamini was that the ex-head of government was able to free members of the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) yet on the other hand he flatly refused to let him out of prison.

"What surprised me the most was that Obed has always claimed to be a fighter and defender of human rights but with me he proved to be exactly the opposite as he appeared to be a discriminatory somebody," prince Mfanasibili claimed.

The prince said he remembered the day when he was freed by the courts on high treason charges only for Dlamini, who is a member of the Ngwane National Liberatory Congress (NNLC), to order that he be sent back to jail. "That was painful to me because I was made to stay in prison for another seven months without being tried because Obed viewed me as a threat and the worse part was seeing the PUDEMO members going home," the prince alleged. In another instance, the prince said members of Human Rights International came to visit all those who were imprisoned under the 60 –Day Detention Order but, without any explanation, he was denied audience with the visiting team.

"As Prime Minister, Obed was never neutral instead he proved to be a biased leader, I even spoke to him after being released and let him know that I had lost all the respect I had for him and you can contact him on this," the prince claimed.

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