About 500 Danish people honour Mario

About 500 Danish people honour Mario
By MANQOBA NXUMALO
Swazi Times June 09,2009

MBABANE- Close to 500 people attended a launch of a Swaziland Democracy Watch at the May Beats festival in the capital of Denmark, Copenhagen.

The event was in honour of Mario Masuku who is leader of the banned People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) an organisation banned in Swaziland.

The Swaziland Democracy Watch held a photo exhibition about the ‘strong and fighting Swazi people’ and the ‘freedom fighter Mario Masuku’ at a big festival held Denmark last weekend. According to information sourced from Nanna B. Olesen on behalf of the organisation, the attending guests were exposed to the exhibition and informed about Mario Masuku and his imprisonment.

Later on, many of the guests wrote greetings to support Mario Masuku. “It was a very successful presentation”, explained Marie Hvelplund, a member of Swaziland Democracy Watch.

Swaziland Democracy Watch says it will, in the near future, send these greetings to Mario Masuku while he is inside jail.

“A lot of people said to me before they came to this festival, they didn’t know anything about Swaziland,” said Anne Bech, a member of Swaziland Democracy Watch.

Swaziland Democracy Watch is a newly founded solidarity group that fights for democracy in Swaziland.

Jailed Mario’s lawyer takes govt to court

Jailed Mario’s lawyer takes govt to court
By MANQOBA NXUMALO
Swazi Times June 09,2009

MBABANE – Human rights Lawyer and also Acting President of the Law Society Mandla Mkhwanazi has also filed an urgent application at the High Court against government.

In his application he expresses discontent over how he is allegedly made to take off his shoes and socks when consulting jailed PUDEMO leader Mario Masuku at the Matsapha Maximum Prison. Government will today file its responding papers and the matter is set to commence before Judge Jacobus Annandale today.

He also alleges that he is now being made to consult Masuku over a fence at the visitor’s room and in the presence of prison warders and that these are the new rules with regards to attorneys that appear on behalf of Masuku. Judge Jacobus Annandale could not listen to the urgent application yesterday as he was reportedly out to see a dentist.

Mkhwanazi, who forms part of Masuku’s legal team and also lawyer of jailed human rights attorney Thulani Maseko, alleges that when he goes to consult with Masuku, he is told to take off his shoes, socks and then searched all over the body. He states that he has tried to negotiate with the warders that besides their conduct being inhuman, he had caught flu and would not want his feet to be exposed to the floor but his argument bore no fruits.

“Initially when I came to consult with my client, we would be given an office within the prison and consult behind closed doors with privacy and in confidence with my client. I remember one occasion I was allowed to consult with my client inside an office inside the Maximum Security Cells but still enjoyed reasonable privacy and confidentiality. On or about April 22, 2009 I went o consult with my client in prison.

For the first time a ‘head to toe search’ was conducted on my body. I did not mind same as it was explained to me that it was a rule but the search was conducted under strenuous protests by myself as it only came by way of mouth as opposed to uniting in an institution like the Maximum prison of the country,” alleges Mkhwanazi. Consult He argues that he was astounded when the prison officers took him to the general visitor’s room, where he was told to consult with Masuku with a high fence separating them. “There is no privacy in the general visitor’s room, since, despite the all time presence of a warder during consultation, other inmates and warders then get access to our conversations which are supposed to be private and confidential. Having complained to the senior officers at the prison that the new set up defeated the whole principle of ethics on confidentiality between attorney and own client, I was only advised that, it was yet another new rule (sic),” he alleges.

He alleges that given the above problems, he eventually failed to consult with Masuku. He argues that yesterday he prepared answering affidavits on behalf of his client under civil case 1753/09 with the intention of having them commissioned for subsequent filing in court.

He said he was told to undergo what he calls the most humiliating, degrading and inhuman treatment ever to be subjected to himself as an attorney and officer of the High Court. He said the new rules that have been passed were that he would consult Masuku over the general visitor’s room and that he would have to undergo head to toe searches.

Mkhwanazi also said he would have to remove his shoes and socks before he could have an access to Masuku. Mkhwanazi is worried that he has was now being treated like convict who is strapped naked and searched all over the body when he wants to see his client.

Mario Masuku criticizes the Swazi Constitution

With assistance from Pretoria, on April 12, 1973 Sobhuza II infamously declared: the Constitution of Independence had “failed”; it was the cause of “growing unrest”; it had permitted “undesirable political practices”; and there was “no constitutional way” to amend the Constitution. A State-of Emergency was declared and Sobhuza II assumed supreme power (Kuper 1978). Parliament was suspended for five years and when it reopened the royalist's tinkhundla system began to be enforced. The Constitution which was suspended in 1973 was eventually replaced thirty-three years later.

In the brief video clip below, PUDEMO President lists the shortcomings of the so-called "new" Constitution. Masuku has been an outspoken critic of the Swazi regime for years and they think he can be silenced by prison. VIVA Mario VIVA!

Lawyer of PUDEMO President Arrested

PUDEMO media statement, 3 June 2009


The Swazi regime has gone mad beyond recovery!

Advocate Thulani Maseko, lawyer of PUDEMO President was arrested yesterday on charges of TERRORISM!

This is a clear indication that the Swazi regime wants to do away with all human rights activists.

Thulani Maseko is a founding member of the Swaziland Association of Students, former president of the Student Representative Council (SRC) at the University of Swaziland, former Secretary General of PUDEMO, founding member of Lawyers for Human Rights Swaziland, founding member and chairperson of the National Constitutional Assembly.

He has represented many comrades in their legal battles against the regime including the successful case by the ex-miners in which the court ruled in favour of the people for free education.

Advocate Maseko is a well respected lawyer around the world, having been recently invited by the Foreign affairs Minister in the UK and the EU to state the case for Swaziland.

It is not clear as yet where he is kept and what is happening to him.

But we fear for his life.


PUDEMO International Relations
c/o Head of Publicity
Manzini, Swaziland

cell numbers
268-607-3453 (Swaziland)
27-73-142-7594 (South Africa)
27-82-923-1401 (South Africa)

European Ambassador is friends with political activist Mario Masuku.

Ambassador is Mario’s friend

By SENZO DLAMINI

Swazi Times May 29,2009

EZULWINI – Retiring European Ambassador Peter Beck Christiansen is friends with political activist Mario Masuku.

Masuku, the President of the People’s United Democratic Movement, is currently languishing at the Matsapha Maximum Correctional Institution awaiting trial. He was incarcerated in December under the Suppression of Terrorism Act 2008. Christiansen yesterday stunned all and sundry when he sent special greetings to the PUDEMO chief.

This was during the European Day Celebrations held at the Boma Restaurant.

“A special greeting goes to my friend Mario Masuku,” he said much to the deafening silence of the over 50 people who attended the event. “I’ve known Mario since I came here five years ago.”

Opposition

The ambassador also thanked what he termed as opposition parties, civil society and the entire private sector for being open to their cooperation.

“Finally, to my staff in the delegation – thanks for the job done in supporting me and projecting Europe in Swaziland – keep on fighting the battles in a positive spirit,” Christiansen added.

The Nation interviews PUDEMO’s President in prison!

Sikelela Dlamini, Swazi journalist and educator, has written about the latest issue of The Nation which features an interview with jailed PUDEMO President, Mario Masuku.


To read this post see his blog at:
http://s1kamd.wordpress.com/2009/05/20/the-nation-interviews-pudemo%E2%80%99s-mario-masuku-in-prison/

UK Govt hosts Mario’s Attorney

UK Govt hosts Mario’s Attorney
By MAKHOSI MAGONGO
Sunday Times May 17,2009

MBABANE—Local attorney and human rights activist Thulani Maseko recently travelled to the United Kingdom on the invitation by the country’s Foreign and Commonwealth Minister, Lord Malloch-Brown.

This is contained in a classified letter written by the minister to leaders of a labour organisation known as Unite the Union, which was intercepted by this publication.

Maseko met officials from The Commonwealth Secretariat, Amnesty International as well as those from an organisation known as the death penalty project.

“In March the Foreign and Commonwealth Office organised the visit of a leading human rights lawyer from Swaziland, Thulani Maseko, who is defending the leader of PUDEMO, who as you note has been in prison since November 2008,” he states, in response to a letter written by Unite the Union joint Secretaries, Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley.

Maseko reluctantly confirmed the trip this week.

“It’s true that I went there and met a few people from different organisations to discuss burning issues in Swaziland,” said Maseko, who is the coordinator of Lawyers for Human Rights.

“I gave them a full briefing and we thereafter made projections to the future; how we envision the future considering the current state of affairs,” he said.

silencing

He said the main issue discussed was the contentious Suppression of Terrorism Act, where the common view was that it is used (or abused) in silencing dissenting voices.
“Such legislation is used in many countries, developed or underdeveloped. However, in our case people can see that it is not used to target real terrorists. In Swaziland, a terrorist is anyone with a dissenting view. Clearly, this (fighting terrorism) is an international drive that is now being abused by government,” he said.

He said the representatives from the organisations he met were interested in knowing more about the Mario Masuku case. “The focus on Swaziland is inevitably mounting, at least according to the people I met. The critical concern is to see Swaziland moving towards democracy using acceptable means,” he said.

He said that members of the Death Penalty Project are also interested in Swaziland, as the country’s constitution is vague on the issue of the death penalty. It is widely considered that the death penalty is still effective in Swaziland. “The constitution leaves this issue with judges to exercise their discretion when handing down judgement,” he said.

“They (Death Penalty Project) made an undertaking and commitment that action will be taken if need be,” he said.

He said it is important for the British government to see progress in Swaziland as its former protectorate.

“Above that, Africa has committed to multiparty democracy. Even SADC rules share the same spirit. Therefore, there is no reason for Swaziland to be different,” he said.