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MBABANE – CIVICUS has included the incarcerated MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube in their ‘Stand As My Witness Campaign’.
CIVICUS alliance is the global alliance of civil society organisations and activists working to strengthen citizen action and civil society.
According to CIVICUS, the Stand As My Witness campaign, is meant for people who are imprisoned for speaking up and standing for what they believe in.
The two Members of Parliament (MPs) join the likes of Nasrin Sotoudeh from Iran, who was jailed for defending women protesting abusive veiling laws.
The CIVICUS website details how the MPs were arrested and the charges against them, it further included the issues surrounding the two MPs bail hearing, stating that on July 29, 2021 they appeared before the High Court in Mbabane for the bail hearing however, the judgment was reserved by the presiding judge and how again on September 14, 2021 the judge ruled against the second bail application and this decision was appealed by the MPs, but the High Court declared that it could not correct its judgment as it had made specific findings in dismissing the bail and advised the parties on the only available remedy, which is to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Detained
“We are detained under horrendous conditions and stand the risk of contracting COVID-19,” reads the submission on the CIVICUS website.
The website further reads that the quest for political reforms and the arrest of the MPs continues to spark tensions and protests across the country.
“In October 2021, demonstrations and anti-police violence marches took place across the country, calling for our release and the release of other peaceful protesters who were previously apprehended in July,” reads in part the MPs’ #standasmywitness plea on the CIVICUS site.
The global civil organisation further includes in the submission that it is calling for the Kingdom of Eswatini to free all pro-democracy demonstrators, including MPs Mabuza and Dube, to respect the right to protest and freedom of assembly and to ensure justice for 80 people killed since the July 2021 unrest.
Worth noting is that a preliminary report by the Human Rights Commission indicated that 46 people had been reported to have died during the civil unrest in June – July last year.