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BACEDE, MTHANDENI’S LETTER TO US PRESIDENT BIDEN

20/12/2021 09:09:00 BY MBONGISENI NDZIMANDZE AND KWANELE DLAMINI

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MBABANE - Incarcerated MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube have pleaded with USA President Joe Biden to demand their release from custody, unconditionally.

The duo has since written a letter to President Biden, which was sent through the United States of American (USA) Embassy to the Kingdom of Eswatini. In the eight-page letter, the Members of Parliament (MPs) stated: “Mr President, greetings from jail of His Majesty’s Correctional institution, Mbabane and Matsapha in Swaziland (Eswatini). We do hope that the letter finds you in great health and your entire administration (sic),” reads the letter. They informed the president that they were writing to him as MPs in the country, who were languishing in custody.

The MPs went on to tell President Biden that, being a leader of the Free World, they felt obliged to bring their matter to his doorstep, given the urgency of their case and the continued violation of human rights in Eswatini. “We have respected and expected protocol within our country. We therefore seek your intervention as the last resort, after which we shall accept whatever comes our way,” reads part of the letter.

Mabuza and Dube went on to inform the president that they had engaged locally and exhausted all remedies possibly available and this included the registrar of the Supreme Court, chief justice (CJ), Law Society of Swaziland, attorney general, minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs and the Speaker of the House of Assembly. They further brought it to the attention of the president that they even went further to write to His Majesty King Mswati III, different embassies and High Commissions in the country. In the letter, they then narrated to the president events leading to their arrest.

Challenge

They relayed to President Biden that on March 5, 2021, as MPs, Mabuza rose in Parliament to challenge the current government. “I have observed Your Excellency that, in Swaziland (Eswatini) the Constitution is cited or used only when it comes to oppressing citizens, but when it comes to accountability of the government and the royalty in particular, it becomes ‘an act of terror’,” said Mabuza. He highlighted that he was then joined by his colleagues Mduduzi ‘Magawugawu’ Simelane and Mthandeni Dube. MP Mabuza told the president that, they together challenged the actions of the government when it was acting to the detriment of the people. He said they believed by doing so they were executing the mandate of being MPs.

“As we were executing our duties, there was a mysterious death of a young man, Thabani Nkomonye, around May 13, 2021, who allegedly died in the hands of Royal Eswatini Police Services. The youth then rose to question the death of their own,” narrated the MPs. The two MPs told the president that they were thereafter invited to Nkomonye’s memorial service, where they experienced the most outrageous police brutality they had ever seen as MPs, where two casspir heavy duty war vehicles drove into an open field to discharge tear gas cannisters to the grieving family and mourners inside the tent and the people who had come to give support. “That event Your Excellency, acted as the last nail in the coffin, not only for the youth in the country, even for some MPs who are parents,” stated the MPs.

Mandate

They went on to inform President Biden that they then rose in Parliament, to indicate to the august House that the citizens had given them a mandate, that as the Eswatini Nation, they now wanted to elect their own prime minister, not for him (PM) to be appointed by the King as it was happening. Mabuza and Dube said they alluded that the citizens believed that if one was appointed, that appointee would do everything to please the appointer. They narrated that the acting prime minister, whom they also challenged to be acting outside the prescript of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Eswatini, said they must bring forth minutes to prove that the people were the ones who made that call.

The duo informed the president that when the people saw the acting prime minister’s sentiments on the national newspapers the next day, they decided to petition MPs. They pointed out to President Biden that the country had 59 constituencies, which meant 59 MPs of the august House were representatives of those constituencies. Mabuza and Dube further told President Biden that the petitions were rightfully submitted, yet some MPs indicated that in their areas the people turned violent and rude.

Resolution

“We therefore had a debate in Parliament on June 21, 2021, wherein a resolution was passed by the House that since 50 petitions were delivered (majority), we should let the other MPs, which include the three of us who are persecuted today; Honourable Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza, Honourable Mthandeni Dube and our colleague who had been strangely removed as a MP, Mduduzi Simelane who remains in exile, to receive them from their constituents,” reads part of the letter.
They highlighted to the president that after the resolution, they encouraged people to peacefully submit their petitions to their various tinkhundla centres (constituency centres) where they (MPs) would be waiting to accept those petitions and put them before Parliament for deliberation.

The two MPs informed the president that, almost, if not all those petitions, alluded that the people wanted the right to elect their own PM and that the royalty should not be involved in the politics of the country. “The people heeded the call and submitted their petitions until the then Acting Prime Minister, Themba Nhlanganiso Masuku, made a statement on June 24, 2021 that the delivery of petition was banned, which was regarded as the ‘banning order,” stated the MPs. They notified the president that as MPs, they were very disturbed as to how could an acting prime minister overturn a parliamentary resolution.

Decision

Mabuza and Dube told President Biden that the then acting prime minister never in any instance involved the august House in that decision but they only learnt in the newspapers like everyone else. “When our electorates asked us the right position, we rightfully explained that a resolution was passed in Parliament that petitions must be allowed to be delivered and therefore, one man cannot overturn the decision of Parliament, thus people must proceed to deliver the petitions,” reads part of the letter to the USA president. The two MPs went on to tell the president that people tried to deliver the remaining petitions but they were shot at by the police, such that the national commissioner of police declared war on those who attempted to deliver the petitions.

They stated that MP Simelane (Magawugawu) was even prohibited by the police from leaving his home and go to the constituency centre to accept the petition from his electorates. In the letter, it further was alleged by the two MPs that even MP Dube (Mthandeni) was prohibited in a police roadblock from going to the constituency centre to accept the petition from his electorate. They pointed out to the USA president that when the people were barred from entering their constituency centres, which by law were the rightful places where grievances should be delivered, violence erupted in the country.

“When the violence ignited, we came out to call for peace, not only from the people we are representing, but also the police seize fire. A government official appeared on national television and local newspapers saying that the police and the army shall fight fire with fire (sic),” related the duo. Mabuza and Dube stated that they once again appeared on social media to call for calm and for people to desist from any form of violence, vandalism and illegal acts. They told the president that as a result, there was looting, vandalism and the highest level of anarchy never seen before in the country.

Threatened

“Your Excellency, not a day passes by where we do not feel the pain of all the souls that have been lost, the people maimed, intimidated and threatened, the public and private property that has been damaged, including our own properties, which continued to be burned even now when we are in prison,” wrote the duo.
The incarcerated MPs informed the president of the USA that they believed that the solution was peaceful dialogue as they alluded to from the onset. They mentioned that they failed to understand why the Eswatini Government said it was preparing a dialogue without them. Mabuza and Dube further wrote that as they were in prison, more than 60 Eswatini citizens had been killed, others maimed and jailed for calling for political change.

They highlighted to the president that women and children were among those who had been killed and imprisoned. “We have now learnt that that many are behind bars with us, but after seeing many emaSwati joining us, others being buried every weekend, our businesses being burnt to the ground, we realised that our incarceration is more detrimental to the country,” said the MPs.

Release

They then implored President Biden to call for their unconditional release from prison and that of all persons who were arrested from the month of June 2021 in relation to the unrest in the country. They told the president that they had observed as politicians, how the USA had engaged with other countries not only to recognise, but to protect and promote human rights globally. “In the context of Swaziland (Eswatini), however, dissenting and opposing voices are silenced, intimidated, maimed, harassed and thrown into jail, as we have. The system of government is based on one man with all political authority, which is sanctioned by the Constitution,” said the duo.

They further brought it to the attention of the USA president that they sat as MPs to decide matters of the country which were of great importance not only for their electorates but the entire nation, then one man decided to overturn their decisions either way, which effectively undermined democracy and democratic governance. It was also their contention that, this management was not only contrary to the developments in Africa post- 1990, but at variance with international standards and international law.