LAWYER MANDLA MKHWANAZI DIES

MBABANE – He will be remembered for his boldness, vast knowledge on legal issues and captivating voice.
President of the Law Society of Swaziland (LSS) and prominent lawyer Mandla Mkhwanazi, popularly known as ‘Majey’, is no more.

He will also be remembered for once taking court process or documents and serving them at one of the palaces, after Inkhosikati LaMahlangu joined the royal family.
Mkhwanazi, who has been a lawyer for 20 years, died at the age of 47. He was operating a law firm under the style name, Mkhwanazi Attorneys.
His death comes hardly a month after he made a moving speech during the official opening of the High Court 2019 Legal year. In his speech as president of the LSS, Mkhwanazi made a litany of allegations in the manner in which justice was administered in the Kingdom of Eswatini.

One of the disquieting claims that were made by Mkhwanazi was that justice in the country was for sale and in a later interview said they had plenty of evidence to that effect.
This was after the LSS was called by Chief Justice (CJ) Bheki Maphalala, to produce the evidence the LSS was referring to.  To show that he was also a peace-loving man who held no grudges, at the time of his death, with the executive of the LSS, they had met with the CJ to iron out their differences. During their meeting with the CJ, they also agreed on a way forward on how best they could work together for the betterment of the country’s justice system.
High profile cases

During his lifetime he handled a number of high- profile cases which included disputes between the Swaziland National Association of Teachers (SNAT) and government.
He also represented lawyer Thulani Maseko when he was arrested with The Nation Magazine Editor Bheki Makhubu, for alleged contempt of court which had been initiated by the former Chief Justice, Michael Ramodibedi.  In this matter, the Crown later conceded that the duo was wrongfully arrested.  He also represented former SWAYOCO Secretary General Maxwell Dlamini, in the matter where he had been charged under the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
The prominent lawyer represented one of the suspects, Sebenzile Thango, in the E50 million Capacity Building fraud case.
Mkhwanazi was the lawyer who appeared on behalf of Sikhumbuzo Makhanya, the man who stole about E2.9 million  at Royal Villas, belonging

the then Vice President of Equitorial Guinea,  Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.
Mkhwanazi, who was regarded by many lawyers as an expert on labour issues, succumbed to tuberculosis (TB), which he had been battling with for sometime. He died in the early hours of yesterday, at around 4am, according to his family. At the time of his demise, he had been admitted to the Mbabane Government Hospital since last Friday.

According to his elder sister Ncamisile, the well- known human rights lawyer, in September last year, was admitted to the Medisun Clinic in Ezulwini for the same illness but was later discharged after showing signs of recovery.
She disclosed that Mkhwanazi leaves behind his wife Nokuthula, who is a teacher at St Mark’s High School, and six children. The youngest child is seven years old.

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