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WE’RE NOT HIDING MP ‘GAWUZELA’ - US EMBASSY

03/08/2021 08:46:00 BY SIBONGILE SUKATI

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MBABANE – While the location of Siphofaneni Member of Parliament Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane remains a mystery, the US Embassy has dismissed talks that it was harbouring the legislator.

While the Times SUNDAY published a picture of Simelane praying on a mountain, believably on Saturday, his whereabouts were not disclosed but there have been allegations that he had sought refuge at the United States Embassy in Ezulwini. It is alleged that he has been hiding at the embassy to avoid being arrested by the police alongside his two other colleagues in the Legislature; namely, Hosea MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Ngwempisi MP Mthandeni Dube. Simelane, who, together with the other two colleagues, is leading calls for political reforms – particularly the election of the prime minister - is wanted by the police in relation to charges related to the Suppression of Terrorism Act, under which Mabuza and Dube have also been charged.

Accommodated

The two MPs are currently accommodated at the Matsapha Maximum Correctional Facility and were remanded today while they await judgment on their bail application, which was heard by High Court Judge Mumcy Dlamini last Thursday. Certain people believe that MP Simelane has allegedly sought refuge at the US Embassy premises so as to avoid being arrested because such premises enjoy diplomatic immunity. Article 21 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations stipulates that premises of a diplomatic mission shall remain inviolable. “The agents of the receiving State (in this case Eswatini) may not enter them (premises), except with the consent of the head of the mission,” reads the article. It also provides that the receiving State is under a special duty to take all appropriate steps to protect the premises of the mission against any intrusion or damage and to prevent any disturbance of the peace of the mission or impairment of its dignity.

However, the embassy’s Public Affairs Officer (Spokesperson), Stephanie Sandoval, refuted the allegations that they had taken in the legislator. “The US Embassy has not been approached regarding refuge. As is standard practice, we direct anyone with a request for refuge to contact the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,” she said. Sandoval said they referred such requests to the UNHCR through Caritas Swaziland.

‘Hiding’

When the Times SUNDAY asked MP Simelane about the allegation that he was ‘hiding’ at the US Embassy, he first asked where such reports were coming from and then laughed them off. “I don’t want to talk about this for now but I’ll reveal my whereabouts in due course,” he said. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is one person who is known to have taken advantage of such immunity when he spent almost seven years in hiding in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he took asylum in 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face allegations of rape and sexual assault. In 2019, Moreno’s government put an end to the asylum status for Assange and he was arrested in April of that year by the London Metropolitan Police for skipping bail seven years earlier during a separate legal battle. He has since been lodged in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison. US prosecutors have indicted Assange on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over WikiLeaks’ publication of thousands of leaked millitary and diplomatic documents. If the charges are proven, he could face a maximum sentence of 175 years in jail.

Support

Meanwhile, when the US Embassy was asked if they had engaged any of the three MPs at the forefront of the calls for political reforms and what support the embassy had extended to these legislators, the spokesperson said they would continue to engage contacts at all levels of government and across civil society, and reiterate calls for an honest, constructive dialogue with all stakeholders at the table. The embassy reiterated calls for His Majesty the King, the Government of the Kingdom of Eswatini and those seeking political reforms, to commit to a comprehensive and inclusive dialogue to chart a way forward. “Dialogue must include all stakeholders in the country, including political parties, women and youth movements, trade unions, and other civil society organisations,” Sandoval said. The embassy said the calls for reforms coming from within Eswatini; were legitimate, and should be heard.

“We call on the authorities to respect the right to due process under the law, to exercise transparency in the application of law, and to protect human rights, despite political differences,” the spokesperson said. In addition, she said the voice of emaSwati should be heard by their leaders - whether through their elected officials or through other means, including the delivery and consideration of petitions. Moreover, the embassy called on government to issue ‘a clear statement’ that the kingdom’s 2005 Constitution had revoked the ban on political parties under the 1973 Decree. “This will allow the government to define the role of political parties in Eswatini, and will give political parties the opportunity to play a constructive role in the upcoming 2023 elections,” Sandoval said.

Decree

Government has always insisted that the 1973 Decree was revoked by the coming in of the Constitution but no ‘clear statement’ has ever been issued in that regard. Section 25 of the Constitution addresses issues of assembly and association; it states that ‘a person has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association’. The section also states that ‘a person shall not except with the free consent of that person be hindered in the enjoyment of the freedom of peaceful assembly and association, that is to say, the right to assemble peacefully and associate freely with other persons for the promotion or protection of the interests of that person’. Despite this, there have been concerns that the section does not clearly pronounce itself on political parties. On the other hand, Sandoval said the embassy continued to urge calm, restraint, dialogue, and accountability. Also, the embassy urged respect for the rule of law and judicial integrity and independence.

Sandoval said the US was partners with Eswatini - evidenced by more than 16 years of profound investment and commitment to public health through the PEPFAR programme, and most recently by the donation of enough COVID-19 vaccines to fully vaccinate 45 per cent of adults in the country. “These investments reflect a long and deep friendship between the US and Eswatini, and we look forward to continuing our partnership for generations to come,” the embassy spokesperson stated. In Parliament last Wednesday, Deputy Speaker Phila Buthelezi blasted the US Embassy for interfering in Eswatini’s internal affairs and asked the Americans to stay out of the kingdom’s issues.