As an arrest warrant is issued against Swaziland’s Chief Justice Michael Ramodibedi
for alleged abuse of power, two journalists remain in jail in the kingdom for writing and publishing
articles alleging the same thing against him.
Bhkeki Makhubu, the editor of the Nation magazine, and human rights lawyer
and writer Thulani Maseko, were jailed for two years for contempt of court in
July 2014 after they wrote and published articles critical of the Swazi
judiciary. In particular they drew attention to Ramodibedi’s abuse of power.
Ramodibedi, according to the Observer
Saturday
newspaper in Swaziland, now faces at least 23 charges, some including abuse of
power.
In his judgement on the case, High Court Judge Mpendulo Simelane cited
a passage that appeared in the February 2014 edition of the Nation. The words published in the Nation now take on a new significance.
It was these words that sent the two
journalists to jail for two years.
‘Like Caiaphus, Ntate Justice Ramodibedi
seems to have chosen to use his higher station in life to bully those in a
weaker position as a means to consolidate his power. Like Caiaphus, Ntate Justice Ramodibedi seems
to be in a path to create his legacy by pushing the small man so that he can
sleep easy at night well knowing that he has sent a message to all who dare
cross him that they will be put in their right place. Let us not forget that Caiaphus was not only
the high priest of Judea. He was the
chief justice of all Jewish law and had only the immense power to pass judgment
on anyone among his people who transgressed the law. Ditto Ntate Justice Ramodibedi in Swaziland.’
‘What is incredible about the similarities
between Caiaphus and Ntate Justice Ramodibedi is that both men had willing
servants to help them break the law.’
They were convicted and jailed at Swaziland
High Court by Judge Mpendulo Simelane, who along with the kingdom’s Chief
Justice Ramodibedi also has an arrest warrant issued against him on charges of
abuse of power.
Judge Simelane
had been subjected to some criticism since his appointment to the High Court by
Chief Justice Ramodibedi in February 2014. The Sunday Observer, a newspaper in Swaziland in effect owned by King
Mswati III, who rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch,
said Simelane lacked
the necessary experience.
The Law Society
of Swaziland said it had tried to register an
application challenging the appointment of Simelane as a judge of the High Court,
but the Registrar of the High Court refused to accept it due to pressure from
Ramodibedi.
See also
ARREST WARRANT
FOR CHIEF JUSTICE
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