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ANONYMOUS SMS TO SA ADVOCATE: WITHDRAW FROM MPS’ CASE

23/12/2021 10:10:00 BY NTOMBI MHLONGO

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MBABANE – Withdraw!

This is a request that has been made to Advocate Gareth Leppan, the South African man who is representing the State in the case of the two incarcerated Members of Parliament (MPs), Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube. The warning has been issued through an SMS which was sent to the advocate by an unknown person. The SMS has been shared among judicial officers involved in the matter. The unknown sender first greets the advocate and states that he hopes he is doing well. He goes on to apologise for interrupting the advocate’s peace.

“May I kindly request that you withdraw from the case of the two MPs in Swaziland (Eswatini) counsel. I understand there’s a financial gain, but counsel these are our MPs. Do not be used to persecute our elected MPs. You are a South African, you enjoy a variety of rights while the limited rights that we are allowed to enjoy are taken away at whim,” reads part of the SMS. The sender goes on to detail how in 1996, trade union leaders of the then Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions (SFTU) were arrested.

“The government hired a Durban- based counsel to prosecute them. When counsel arrived, he found that the law criminalising the alleged crime had been passed a day after commission of the crime and the law had been given retrospective effect. He refused to prosecute. That’s how the SFTU leaders were freed. They also had done nothing besides calling for democratic reforms just like the MPs,” the SMS further reads. Furthermore, the sender warned the advocate against being used by the State and alleged that his participation in the case was only to give an impression to the international community that the process was legitimate, transparent and fair because a foreign counsel was involved.

“Don’t be used for this selfish end because history indeed has no blank spaces. One day we shall remember you for having persecuted the men we love, the men we look up to, the men who have decided to lose everything for us. But above it all, your conscience hasn’t left you and I fully appreciate that you will reflect on this and arrive at the correct determination. Regardless of your decision, we shall never stop demanding democracy,” it was stated in the SMS. In the end, the sender wrote an initial believed to be of his name and ended with a local surname. It was ended with a sign off: S Maseko.

According to some of the judicial officers, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the SMS was sent using a local cellphone number. It was gathered that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had already been informed of the issue. However, when the DPP was called by this reporter on Tuesday, he said he was yet to check if the matter had been reported. Later on, he stated that he could not comment as the issue had not been reported to his office. This publication wanted to ascertain how the DPP’s Office understood the SMS as some sort of intimidation and what it would do about it, meaning would they report such to the police for further investigations.

The South African advocate is not new in the country as he is the one who was tasked with the responsibility of ensuring the conviction of Qing Ming He, who was accused of killing and kidnapping Matsapha businessman Almor Oliveira.

Corruption

He also represented the State during the corruption case of former Minister of Justice Sibusiso Shongwe. It should be noted that on Monday, the two incarcerated MPs were in court to hear their application to compel the Chief Justice (CJ), Bheki Maphalala, to enrol their urgent bail appeal. The matter was before Judge Doris Tshabalala yesterday, who after hearing arguments from both parties, reserved judgment until December 29, 2021. On the day, a sizeable number of the MPs’ supporters converged at the High Court and police officers had to fire tear gas to disperse them. This was not the first time that police had to fire tear gas to disperse supporters of the two MPs.

On December 9, 2021, which was the sixth day of the trial, scenes of chaos erupted at the entrance of the High Court after the supporters of the two MPs and members of different political parties blocked the road leading to the High Court, emptied skips before attempting to forcefully gain entry into the High Court premises. Police officers from the Operational Support Services Unit (OSSU) and those from His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS), who had been deployed at the entrance of the High Court, had to use tear gas canisters to disperse the rowdy crowd. The MPs have been in custody since their arrest on July 25, 2021.
They have been accused of inciting the public to revolt against a constitutionally established government, bringing hatred to the person of His Majesty the King and murder.