On May 14, the Swaziland Youth Congress issued a statement, strongly condemning what it called an “ambush and unjust conviction” of Musa Ngubeni by the Tinkhundla court. It expressed great concern about the charges of possession of explosives that the Swazi dictatorship of King Mswati has falsely accused him of.
Ngubeni, along with his fellow activist, Maxwell Dlamini, was arrested on April 12 while protesting in support of democracy and socio-economic justice. Both were charged with possession of illegal ammunition under sections 8 and 9 of the little-used 1961 Explosives Act. The police had claimed that they found detonators and electric cables in a bag that the two were carrying. Swaziland’s democratic movement deemed the charges preposterous, alleging that the two activists were tortured into signing a confession. Geez Mthethwa of the banned Swaziland Youth Congress had said, “They wouldn’t have carried explosives with police roadblocks everywhere. It defeats logic.” Sikelela Dlamini of the Swaziland Democracy Campaign had stated that Maxwell admitted being in possession of the bag in which the explosives were found, but he had denied knowledge of its contents.
At the time of the arrest, Maxwell Dlamini was the president of Swaziland students union and Musa Ngubeni was serving as a high ranking member of the banned People’s United Democratic Front (Pudemo). Both of them were kept in jail together for over a year after which they were finally granted bail for 50,000 euros each. Maxwell Dlamini was later acquitted of the charges under the explosives act. However, he was still charged under sections 4 and 11 of the suppression of terrorism act for criticizing the Mswati regime on May Day 2014, and faces 15 years if convicted.
Dlamini is also charged with sedition and participating in unlawful activities for allegedly organizing a campaign advocating the boycott of Swaziland’s 2013 elections.
Ngubeni, before being convicted on May 14, had to constantly appear in court and report to the police four times a week. The Swaziland Youth Congress stated that the Mswati government tried to deliberately delay and prolong the case to procure ample time to manufacture false evidence for his conviction. The government had also unfairly imposed very strict bail conditions on Ngubeni. Earlier, they had opposed granting him bail, arguing that he was a danger to society.
The youth congress resolved to make sure that the struggle for democracy in Swaziland never stops, pledging to use “all means possible to fight for the freedom of political activists being persecuted for calling for change in Swaziland”. It extended utmost support to Musa Ngubeni against the unlawful and unjust conviction.
Swaziland is the last remaining absolute monarchy in sub-Saharan Africa. It has been under a repressive regime for more than four decades. The autocratic monarch Mswati III leads a lavish lifestyle despite the suffering economy of the country. The parliament, elected once every five years, is widely regarded as a ‘puppet’ government, serving as an instrument to allow the monarch to exercise his will, and is completely incapable of keeping a check on Mswati’s power. No political party is allowed to contest the elections since 1973. Political dissenters are frequently punished and face police brutality. The protesters, seen as ‘a major threat to the state’, are often targeted later and denied state scholarships and access to government services. Civil and political rights are curtailed in the country, and political parties are banned.
