Mario challenges Terrorism legislation
By Swazi News
December 13, 2008
MBABANE- Jailed PUDEMO leader has challenged the constitutionality of the Suppression of Terrorism Act.
In an urgent application filed at the High Court yesterday, Masuku alleges that every citizen must have the capacity and opportunity to speak freely about the government and the king where governance is concerned. He alleges that the Act is not only oppressive, but colonial and has no place in a Constitutional State in which Swaziland claims to be.
"In my respectful submission, it has always been customary practise to criticize the king as the leader of the nation, without inviting sedition and subversive activities. I submit that these actions are worded in such a wide manner so much that it effectively vitiates the fundamental rights and freedoms in an open democratic society," reads Masuku’s papers. He said his incarceration would not come into an end until trial and that given the backlog of cases his trial would not come any time soon.
Masuku is represented by human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko.
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