READERS SUPPORT SUSPENDED JUDGE

Times Sunday, Swaziland

3 July 2011

The response from newspaper readers in Swaziland to Judge Masuku’s suspension ‘has been overwhelming, with most viewing this unexpected development as a turning point (unfortunately for the worst) in our judiciary. Some of the letters and comments pouring in have been unusable because the writers are understandably agitated, shocked and worried,’ says Innocent Maphalala editor of the Times Sunday.

Here is one letter he felt able to publish.

SOURCE

Actually, Masuku protected the King

Sir,

I have had the opportunity to re-read the wording of Judge Masuku’s verdict. It’s now the subject of one of several sins levelled against him by the Chief Justice.

My careful reading of the verdict leads me to conclude that, contrary to the CJ’s views, Judge Masuku actually deserves a medal instead.

For what in particular? For upholding the esteemed office of the King in high regard.

In the verdict, the judge hails our King as a true statesman who espouses the principles of justice for all, a King who discourages anyone from taking justice into their own hands without due process of law. To substantiate his views, the good judge rightfully goes to the extent of quoting His Majesty’s many speeches where he had discouraged such unlawful acts, not only once, but many times. The Judge concludes by saying it is therefore inconceivable that the King may have authorised the unlawful dispossession of an ordinary man’s cattle without His Majesty’s courts having ruled for, or against the matter, whatever the case maybe.

In other words, the judge says the King is a statesman who always says what he means, and people’s actions (especially those of the police) shouldn’t misrepresent him, or make him appear as contradicting himself. My question is: what’s insulting about that? To me it makes the King look good. Judge Masuku used very good English and the CJ is likely to have made a mistake in translation, I mean when interpreting English into seSotho or into SiSwati because, like all of us, English is also his second language. I know in Swaziland, English is a passing subject, but I’m not too sure about Lesotho. I’d like to think this is a classic case of Lost in Translation, but it doesn’t look deliberate, unless my understanding of English is also just as bad.

The CJ is a good man with good intentions and I’m sure the PM can vouch for him. Another thing which doesn’t sit well with me is that the CJ, through the charges against the judge, has actually elevated himself to be the only true son of Swaziland, even above the Swazi Judge, and by extension all indigenous Swazis.

I wonder how baSothos would take a Swazi working in Lesotho telling one of the most respected basotho citizens there that his behaviour is insulting to His Majesty King Letsie?

Wouldn’t that sound vulgar or at least patronising?

In fact I even doubt the King of Lesotho would take it well either. Like any leader in the world, I’m sure he’d take exception to any foreigner trying to divide his nationals on patriotic grounds.

Most people there would ask, ‘who are you to say this about our own’? We are proud and we love our Swazi King, no doubt about that. I suppose the CJ loves his king in Lesotho too.

As in my home here, I’d be angry if my adopted brother were to tell me I hate my own ‘real’ father.

The second charge is that of an alleged affair, which is essentially a moral issue.

Why hasn’t the female Judge been charged? How do you prove the existence of a love affair?

The judges who take a drink here and there, will they be charged also for breaking a moral code? How about the judges who have relationships, if any, outside of marriage? I’m just asking the question of ’what if’? How about polygamists in the bench, if they’re there?

Why punish a Swazi for having humble ambitions of becoming a CJ one day? Is it wrong to have aspirations?

Very soon, people will be charged for contravening the sanitary laws, like forgetting to flush the toilet after using it.

The CJ has opened a can of worms here and it will hurt all Swazis.

I’ve a feeling the CJ will be enjoying his Swazi-acquired retirement benefits in the Mountain Kingdom when we begin to turn against each other because of this decision.

Honourbale CJ, please reconsider Sir.

Judge Masuku (and Phesheya -Ambassador) once successfully defended the PM against his alleged illicit affair with a prominent banker.

Today the judge has to defend himself against the same charge, and the irony is that the charges against him are likely to reach the PM’s office somehow. I say this because it is imporobable that the CJ would do anything this bold without the support of, or prompting by, the head of government generally. The judge must use the same arguments he used to successfully defend the PM, except that most people would vouch for the integrity of the judge.

Lastly, I would like to congratulate judge Bheki Maphalala for being promoted after only two years of experience in the bench.

He broke a record which even highly respected and internationally reputable judges before him failed to achieve.

We congratulate him. His record in the bench speaks for itself very loudly, at least to those who care to follow events in Swaziland. We must congratulate the wisdom of government too, because it’s through their support that he’s been promoted.

To the other judges, I’d like to say you can only lose something that you have but you cannot lose what you are. What you are is far important to God than man-made titles which often come with conditions which are out of step with your values.

Just when the land issue had died down, now we have to deal with the chaos in the judiciary. Will this persistent commotion ever end?

Tidwell

See also

THE JUDGE’S INSULT THAT WAS NOT

http://swazimedia.blogspot.com/2011/07/judges-insult-that-was-not.html

IN DEFENCE OF JUDGE THOMAS MASUKU

Letter to the editor

Swazi News

2 July 2011

SOURCE

In defence of Judge Thomas Masuku

Madam,

Please publish my email in your esteemed Swazi News, so I too may add my voice in defence of Judge Thomas Masuku, a loyal subject of His Majesty, King Mswati III, and a patriotic Swazi whose unwavering commitment is to work for a better Swaziland.

REALLY, CJ [Chief Justice]? Like all right-thinking Swazis and residents of Swaziland I am in a state of shock over what is happening to Judge Thomas Masuku, a truly patriotic professional and a man of integrity, whose interest is to see his beloved Swaziland having a functioning judiciary.

As a regular reader of The Times of Swaziland and its sister weekend papers, I have always found his reported judgments laced with compassion for his fellowman. So, I share the same sentiments as those expressed by ‘Dlamini’ in yesterday’s (Friday) Times of Swaziland that there’s some self-interest involved in all these flimsy allegations against this outstanding judge. I say ‘flimsy’ because, thanks to The Times of Swaziland’s reproduction of Masuku’s judgement extract, there’s nowhere where Masuku called His Majesty the King ‘fork-tongued’. But the CJ says he did!

The CJ’s actions smell of belly-crawling. Let us also remember, fellow-citizens of Swaziland, that this CJ has been surrounded by controversy since his arrival here in Swaziland. I also wish to remind the CJ of the wisdom of the sages that ‘If you decide to dig a hole for someone, make sure you dig two…"

Thank you, Judge Qinisile Mabuza, for standing up to be counted on the side of truth and justice. I pray and hope that as this man sets out to investigate Judge Thomas Masuku, the Law Society and the Human Rights lawyers will investigate him too.

There’s something phony here. Please expose it and put to pay the pettiness of this tongue-twister. Judge Thomas, you have our prayers. I once again join ‘Dlamini’ in calling out that, "Let us not sit back and watch the judicial system crumble like our economy," for here is the highest official of the judiciary on a self-serving mission. I also pray that the authorities see through this man and shudder at his obvious tactics of keeping his job.

Another Dlamini (L. Dlamini, Mbabane)

‘TIMES’ AND THE NAKED LADIES SCAM

The Times of Swaziland expressed surprise and also a little outrage on Monday (4 October 2010) that an American man has conned Swazi women into sending him photos of themselves naked.

What happened was this: The man had letters ‘published in various newspapers in the country [Swaziland]’ and in them he ‘expressed his wish to marry a Swazi woman’.

But it was a scam. He didn’t want a wife; he just wanted photos of women.

What a surprise. What the Times, an independent newspaper in Swaziland, failed to report that it was the newspaper that published the letter in the first place and as far as I recall it was the only one that did (let’s face it there aren’t that many newspapers in the kingdom.)

The letter writer said, ‘I’m not too picky; I just want a woman with a good heart to help me raise my daughter and take good care of me. I make good money so my wife will not need to work or worry about finances.’

The Times should have smelt a rat, but didn’t. Worse than that, the editor in a footnote encouraged the man by writing, ‘We [Swaziland] have beautiful women, who were raised right’. This almost certainly also encouraged women readers to contact the man.

When this was published in December 2009 I accused the Times of pimping for the man. How right I was.

This week the Times is indignant that the man turned out not to be genuine. Some women who contacted him were left upset.

Perhaps the editor of the Times would like to offer them – and his readers – an apology for being so irresponsible as to publish the letter in the first place.

POLICE 'POLICY TO BEAT MARCHERS'

Swaziland police officers are forced by their superiors to beat up legitimate demonstrators and marchers ‘even if they are peaceful’.

This evidence that Swaziland’s police force is being used by the state against its own people comes from a serving police officer.

The police officer, who has nine years in the job, says, ‘I was posted in the department which mostly deals with riots, including protesters and marchers.

‘Whenever I heard that a march would take place, I would feel like crying.

‘The reason was that my bosses would tell us to go and disrupt as well as beat up the protestors, even if they are peaceful.

‘This was usually determined by the main agenda or petition. If it was political, even if they would carry flowers, we would disperse them.’

The comments come from the officer (who gives his full name), writing in the Times of Swaziland, the kingdom’s only independent daily newspaper.

He says, ‘As a police officer I am forced to beat innocent people. I am not happy. If it was not for my family I would resign from such a job. I would rather live in poverty than beat people up for no good reason.’

To read his full account click here.