Swaziland human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko, who is charged with sedition, is challenging the Swazi Government for acting unconstitutionally.
Maseko, who is alleged to have made public comments in support of two alleged bombers, has been charged under a 1938 sedition act. However, the 2005 Swazi Constitution guarantees (at least on paper) freedom of speech in the kingdom.
In papers filed at the Swazi High Court, Maseko states that the Constitution makes the 1938 act illegal.
In his statement Maseko said, ‘In a democracy the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act has no place, for it violates the guaranteed freedom of speech as stated in the country's constitution.
‘In terms of section two of the constitution, any law that is inconsistent with the constitution is null and void and of no force and effect and must be struck down.’
According to a report in the Swazi News, Maseko said his arrest and the arrest last November of Mario Masuku, President of the banned People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) ‘was ‘meant to keep the nation in the bondage of fear’.
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