LHR building ties in Swaziland

Swaziland is host to an increasingly repressive political regime and diminishing judicial independence. Oppression, arbitrary arrests, abject poverty and torture/beatings are all commonplace creating a fearful and paranoid environment.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) and the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC) hosted a special seminar examining the situation in light of the arrest of Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini a year ago that has gone largely underreported. The pair were arrested on terrorism charges after attending a May Day rally hosted by the People’s United Democratic Movement (Pudemo) in relation to speeches criticising the government and the judiciary and chanting slogans “viva Pudemo viva” and “phansi ngetinkhundla phansi”. Masuku and Dlamini have been detained for over a year after being consistently denied bail.

Overly broad interpretations of the Terrorism and Sedition Acts are used to attribute terrorist intent to the slogans chanted at the rally.

During the seminar, Amnesty International’s Mary Rayner pointed out that tensions remain high as former Swazi prisoners of conscience from the 1980s have become human rights abusers in government. This means that repression in Swaziland is particularly bitter because everyone knows one another. “Old colleagues and school friends turn on each other,” she explained.

Freedom of expression and the media have become increasingly restricted as the Terrorism and Sedition Acts are used to intimidate journalists and editors. The effect of this has been devastating since civil litigation and legal aid programmes are largely ineffective and the only impact on the judiciary lies in the hands of international media and regional influence.

Masuku’s son, Mzwandile, spoke of growing up in the repressive system. Daily sightings of police vehicles on the streets and targeting the families of activists remain popular methods of intimidation and deterrents.

Activists and journalists, and their families, often endure the brunt of brutal beatings for demonstrating their opposition to the current system.

Constitutional challenge

In September 2015, LHR and SALC will challenge sections of the Terrorism and Sedition Acts on behalf of Masuku and Dlamini. The constitutional challenge will deal with the broad interpretation of “terrorist act” and “terrorist group” as the current definition infringes the principle of the rule of law and right to freedom of expression and association. Sections 28 and 29 of the Terrorism Act conflict with the rights to administrative justice and to a fair trial. A “terrorist act" should only be interpreted in line with international norms of violent conduct and conduct that threatens the existence of the state itself. Without that interpretation, it is an unjustifiable limitation to the rights to freedom of association and expression, guaranteed under international law and the Swazi constitution.

Freedom of expression is important in the political sphere and freedom of political debate is at the core of a democratic society. It protects democracy by informing citizens, promoting debate and exposing maladministration. Open debate promotes truth and enables citizens to scrutinise political arguments and consider social values.

Regional interventions

Swaziland has again been thrust into the spotlight as Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi remains holed up in his plush home after being issued with a warrant for his arrest. He faces 23 charges including abuse of power, conflict of interest and defeating the ends of justice. High court judges Mpendulo Simelane and Jacobus Annandale and high court registrar Fikile Nhlabatsi have also been charged in connection with Ramodibedi’s case.

It is worth mentioning that under Swazi law, the king is exempt from both civil suits and criminal prosecution. Protest action is frequently dealt with through violence and intimidation.

LHR and SALC have been working together with organisations in Swaziland following the arrest and sentencing of human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko and journalist Bheki Makhubu last year.

The pair had been sentenced under the Terrorism Act in relation to two newspaper articles that had appeared in The Nation criticising the Swazi judiciary.

Their arrest exposed the abuse of Swaziland’s courts and served as a catalyst for LHR’s involvement in assisting victims of human rights abuses. It had exposed what was happening in Swaziland on a regular basis and demanded intervention. We began observing the prejudicial running of its courts and took the decision to effect change in the troubled country.

Maseko and Makhubu were sentenced to the maximum two years for their “offense”. While incarcerated, we have seen ongoing attempts at intimidation and torture against Maseko – most recently being placed into solitary confinement with no apparent justification. These measures are meant to break detainees’ spirits and crush dissent.

Regional work has been an important step for LHR. It has allowed us to reconnect with partner organisations enabled us to assist human rights defenders while strategising the protection of activists. This has included opening a temporary “hot desk” for human rights defenders from the region in our offices to ensure a safe place for professionals to temporarily work when things become too difficult or dangerous at home. 

We encourage South African civil society to monitor the situation and join in solidarity with Swaziland activists and citizens as they build a democratic and free society.