On jailed MPs
following allegations of human rights violations - Arbitrary arrest and detention; ●
Inhumane conditions of detention; ●
Lack of due process at the investigation stage; ● Lack of fair trial proceedings ●
([cessive delays; ●
9iolation of freedom of e[pression and opinion; ●
9iolation of freedom of assembly and association; ●
)ailure to respect parliamentary immunity; ● Other acts obstructing the e[ercise of the parliamentary ● mandate;
According to the report on the .igali Assembly, the Governing Council of the IPU appreciated Mavimbela¶s spirit of cooperation during his hearing with the Committee on +uman 5ights of Parliamentarians.
³The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union thanks the Speaker of the +ouse of Assembly for the information provided in his letter of October , and during the hearing with the Committee on the +uman 5ights of Parliamentarians at the IPU Assembly; appreciates his
th spirit of cooperation and the invitation e[tended to the committee to send a delegation to (swatini, as confirmed in his discussions with the IPU Secretary General in .igali,” reads the report.
The council believed that such a fact-finding mission would include meetings with all relevant authorities, a visit to the detained members of Parliament and a meeting with their lawyers.
It is stated in the report that the mission should also meet third parties that would offer an opportunity to discuss issues which have emerged in the case at hand and to understand the conte[t in which the incarcerated MPs had to be seen.
+owever, the Governing Council of the IPU considered a set of questions and concerns that would be addressed or posed during their visit to the country. These questions and concerns refer in particular to the following -
The allegation that MP Mabuza and MP Dube ● have not committed any crimes and are being detained and prosecuted in response to their public appeal to strengthen democracy;
Their alleged recent beating-up in detention ● by prison wardens;
The continued dismissal of their bail applications; ●
As a result, the Council requested the IPU ● secretary general to make the necessary arrangements with the parliamentary authorities of (swatini with a view to the dispatch of the mission in the coming months.
The organisation, which is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, reaffirmed its earlier decision to also send a trial observer to the ongoing criminal proceedings, which µthe Speaker kindly agreed to during his discussion with the secretary general in .igali.¶
The council further thanked Mavimbela for his willingness, as e[pressed to the secretary general, to facilitate the IPU¶s possible engagement in efforts to resolve issues stemming from the political crisis in (swatini.
It then requested the secretary general to convey this decision to the Speaker, the complainant and any third party likely to be in a position to supply relevant information.
The council asked the Committee on +uman 5ights of Parliamentarians to continue e[amining this case and to report back to it in due course.
It must be said that MPs Mabuza and Dube were arrested on the evening of -uly , .
They have been held in detention ever first at Mbabane Police Station and then Matsapha Correctional Centre.
Simelane, the current President of the Swaziland Liberation Movement (SWALIMO), fled the country before an arrest warrant could be implemented.
The duo face charges under the Suppression of Terrorism Act- two murder charges and a charge for contravening the CO9ID- regulations.
The IPU received information to the effect that a proper e[amination of the bail applications from the two parliamentarians in detention was reportedly repeatedly delayed and was finally undertaken and denied. With regard to MP Simelane, who is currently in the United .ingdom, the IPU said it first appeared that he had not been officially charged with any offence as his case had not yet been officially referred to court.
On the basis of Article ( ) (c) of the Constitution, the former Siphofaneni MP¶s seat in Parliament was declared vacant because of his prolonged absence without permission or justification. This was an allegation made by the governing council in its report.
The council mentioned that the by-election for his replacement was held at Siphofaneni and his wife was elected and sworn in as a member of the +ouse of Assembly on August , .
The legal action against the parliamentarians was taken in the following conte[t.
In May , calls for political reforms started circulating on various platforms across (swatini, with the aforesaid three parliamentarians also advocating for these changes.
³To prove that these Members of Parliament had the mandate from their constituencies to make this call resulted in a series of petitions being delivered to Parliament in support of the call for change,” reads the report.
During the delivery of the petitions, protesters were calling for constitutional and political reforms.
They also lamented the government¶s reported failure to deliver basic services to its citizens, demanded responses to socio-economic challenges, and invoked alleged ill-treatment by police.
Petitions were delivered to various tinkhundla centres, predominantly by young people, to their Members of Parliament as an endorsement of the call for constitutional and political reforms.
ISSUE BACKGROUND
since, at the