Fana Shongwe who is charged
with murder appeared at the Swaziland High Court on Thursday (26 April 2018)
where Judge Mbutfo Mamba released him.
Shongwe’s case made
international news. He had been arrested and charged in 2009 and was offered
bail at E50,000 with E15,000 in cash with the rest as surety. He could not
afford to pay.
His trial date has yet to
be set.
Judge Mamba said, ‘Mr
Shongwe, it is unfortunate that such happened to you, it should not have
happened to anyone, it is not the law that failed you, but the people entrusted
to execute the law failed you, you are going home today as you will be
released,’ according to a report in the Swazi
Observer on Friday (27 April 2018).
The newspaper reported,
‘Justice Minister Edgar Hillary expressed annoyance in the manner Shongwe’s
matter has been handled. He assured that something was being done to correct
the problem.’
At least 133 people in
Swaziland have waited more than a year in jail without coming to trial,
according to Swaziland’s Human
Rights Commission.
A report
just published by the US State Department into human rights
issues in Swaziland for 2017 stated, ‘Lengthy
pretrial detention was common. Judicial inefficiency and staff shortages
contributed to the problem, as did the police practice of prolonging detention
to collect evidence and prevent detainees from influencing witnesses if
released. There were instances in which the length of detention equalled or
exceeded the sentence for the alleged crime.’
See also
MAN
9 YEARS IN JAIL WITHOUT TRIAL
133
JAILED WITHOUT TRIAL FOR A YEAR
https://swazimedia.blogspot.co.uk/2018/01/133-jailed-without-trial-for-year.html
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