I defended King in and
MBABANE – Ngwempisi MP Mthandeni Dube says he defended the King in and outside Eswatini.
This, the Member of Parliament (MP) said yesterday during his evidence-in-chief in the High Court. The MP was responding a questions posed by his and Hosea MP Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza’s representative, Advocate Jacobus Van Vuuren.
The advocate had asked the MP, who is Accused Two in the matter, to comment on the second alternative charge under the Suppression of Terrorism and Subversive Activities Act.
The trio was accused of encouraging people to disobey an order banning on the physical delivery of petitions on June 24, 2021. The ban was announced by the thenActing Prime Minister, Themba Masuku. They were also accused of encouraging people to reject the appointment of the acting PM and caused hatred to the person of the King.
MP Dube said this was not true. He told the court that he attended a meeting with the political assembly at Summerfield Botanical Gardens, but denied that he made statements with the effect reflected in the charge sheet.
“I never made such statements. I have defended the Monarch and culture. Even when I was bucopho (constituency councillor), I defended the Monarch in and outside the country,” said MP Dube.
Danger
“I realised that the danger of having the Monarch involved in politics would be that his image would be tainted,” MP Dube said.
According to MP Dube, the issues mentioned in the charge sheet did not begin with them. He said the cause was government’s failure to fight corruption, ensure proper service delivery and failure to respect the rights of people.
“This is not a new thing. It’s an old issue. We are not guilty of these charges. To add, whatever we did was in line with the law and we had pure intentions,” said MP Dube.
In the two counts of murder, which occurred at Nkwalini, Mbabane, where two people died after being ran over by a motor vehicle belonging to Sincephetelo Motor VehicleAccident Fund on June 29, 2021, the charge sheet states that the MPs should have foreseen that their conduct would result in the death of people. MP Dube told the court that everything they did was according to the law.
He said anything that was contrary to peace involved criminality and those who committed those offences, witnesses testified that they were charged.
“There was no way for us to foresee it because we were advocating for reforms that would transform into Bills, which would get royal assent,” he added. MP Dube said on June 29, 2021, he was at home in Mankayane when the two men died at Nkwalini. He added that it was not possible to travel due to the chaotic situation.
He was also told the MP Mabuza had spoken about the election of a prime minister (PM) and the advocate asked for his view.
MP Dube said that was the right call for all emaSwati as they went forward ‘that we may protect our monarchy so that it may not be associated with political filth’.
“Why did you pick up the attitude that the prime minister must be elected and not appointed?” Advoate Van Vuuren asked.
MP Dube explained that the low rate in job creation, high unemployment rate in the communities and the way government failed to fight corruption, among other things, was the reason.
He made an example that capital projects were overpriced, a lot of government officials and politicians looted government money by tendering services to government for which they overcharged.
Confidence
He also mentioned that during the 2013 to 2018 term, parliamentarians moved a vote of no confidence against Cabinet, including the PM but it didn’t work.
“I saw that the challenge was that the prime ministers were not servants of the people. They don’t deliver. They fail to stick to timeliness to deliver services to the people and fail to improve the country’s GDP.
“Previously I had seen prime ministers violating people’s rights, abusing their office knowing that they wouldn’t be arrested. They use the police as a political tool to silence the people who advocated for political reforms,” said the MP.
He was asked what he was referring to when he said ‘wakhuluma kabi ngatsi’ in one the videos played early in the trial. MP Dube told the court that he was talking about the then acting PM’s radio statement in which ‘he referred to us as terrorists’.
“Because we were not allowed to address the public on radio, we were trying to prove to the public that we were not terrorists.
“I also explained that as MPs, we were carrying the blame for government’s non-delivery. The solution was to elect a PM. I also said an elected PM would be closer to the people compared to an appointed one.An appointed PM is not accountable to the people.”
The advocate pointed out that MP Dube had raised the issue of the International Convention Centre and Five Star Hotel (ICC&FISH).
MP Dude said as a member of the Ministry of Economic Planning and Development Portfolio Committee, with the other members, they had found that there was alleged misuse of funds and overpricing, such as toilets which cost over E280 000.
He also told the court that the PM and ministers allegedly set the King against the public.
MP Dube submitted that he had realised that when people challenged them on that they use the police and courts as a political weapon to silence their challengers. Judge Mumcy Dlamini, in jest, asked if she was allowed to object since the MP was saying the courts were used to silence people.
Advocate Van Vuuren said MP Dube had emphasised on the election of a PM. The MP said the issue of an elected PM was not new as it had been previously raised during Sibaya and by MP Phila Buthelezi during the 2013 to 2018 term office.
MP Dube disputed all the allegations made against the three of the in the charge sheet. The matter will continue next Tuesday.