Two leaders of Swaziland’s democracy movement Mario
Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini who have been in prison for a year awaiting trial on
sedition charges have been placed in isolation.
The People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO),
one of the best-known pro-democracy groups in the kingdom, reported that an
order was made by Correctional Services Commissioner General Mzuthini
Ntshangase.
Masuku is President of PUDEMO and Dlamini is
Secretary-General of SWAYOCO, PUDEMO’s youth wing. Dlamini is reportedly on
hunger strike in protest.
PUDEMO said in a statement issued Friday (1 May
2015), the pair were placed in isolation ‘for no apparent reason’.
It said, ‘Presently the two political activists have
to contend with being accommodated in a block that is supposed to accommodate a
group of 40, but it is only the two of them that have to contend with the dingy
block with faulty plumbing that they have to wait for at least an hour to fill
a cup of water in order to have a drink.
‘The directive that the political activists should
be isolated was issued yesterday 30 April 2015, and since then, they have had
to answer the call of nature in buckets between 4pm and 8am in the morning. SWAYOCO Secretary General Dlamini has since engaged in a hunger strike to
protest the ill treatment.’
PUDEMO reported that on 1 May 2015 one of Dlamini’s relatives
who visited the Zakhele Remand Centre to deliver
medicine was turned away.
PUDEMO described their treatment ‘as nothing but a
form of torture in order to break the spirits of these two gallant political
activists’.
Meanwhile, Masuku’s son Mzwandile Masuku, writing
for Amnesty International on Friday (1 May 2015) before news of his father’s
latest condition was known, said, ‘My father is a diabetic. And he is not a
young man. His continued incarceration aggravates his medical condition. We
have struggled to keep him monitored and ensure that his doctor’s
recommendations are adhered to. Sometimes, the prison doesn’t give him his
medication because it is not in stock, but when we buy it and take it to the
prison we are turned away.
‘There are so many restrictions and conditions in
prison. I guess they are meant to break down the inmates but also to discourage
our visits. When we visit my father we are made to wait, sometimes for up to an
hour and a half, and then we are only allowed to see him for five minutes at most.
But I have learnt to brace myself for these restrictions. It is disheartening
to see prison visitors who arrive after me being allowed in while I wait my
turn.
‘Regardless of our right to privacy of family
communication, the visit is supervised by three correctional officers. One of
the three takes minutes of our conversation word for word. Once, the senior
officer requested that I speak slowly so the recording officer had time to take
notes. I lost my cool and told him I would not do so. This angered the officer
who then threatened to bar me from visiting the institution. That unfortunate
argument also cut into my precious five minutes with my father.’
Amnesty International said
in a statement, ‘The prison authorities continue to deny Mario Masuku
access to the specialised medical care that he needs. Mario and Maxwell Dlamini
have twice been denied bail during the year since their arrest. The appeal
against their denial of bail was due to be heard in the Swaziland Supreme Court
on 5 May 2015, however as a result of a judicial crisis in the country, the
sitting of the Supreme Court has been postponed indefinitely.’
PUDEMO, along with all other organisations that are
advocating for democracy in Swaziland, has been banned under the Suppression of
Terrorism Act. King Mswati III rules Swaziland as sub-Saharan Africa’s last
absolute monarch. Political parties are banned from taking part in elections.
See
also
SON OF JAILED POLITICAL LEADER SPEAKS
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