25 and 18 years jail sentences for Bacede, Mthandeni

By Bahle Gama

Former Members of Parliament (MPs) Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube have been sentenced to 25 years and 18 years in prison without the option of a fine respectively.

The sentence was handed down by High Court Judge Mumcy Dlamini on Monday afternoon in which the accused persons’ sentence was ordered to run concurrently, dating back to their arrest in 2021.

The former MPs were on July 25, 2021, arrested and charged with suppressing the Terrorism Act and murder, after they incited members of the public to riot against the Government of Eswatini, birthing political unrest, which resulted in the loss of life and destruction of public and private property.

Mabuza was acquitted of breaching the Covid-19 regulations he allegedly committed during a community meeting attended by about 2,000 people at Hosea Inkhundla in June 2021.

Mabuza and Dube had denied the evidence led by the crown’s witnesses and insisted that all they did was explain the constitutional rights to the people of Eswatini.

They told the court that banning the delivery of petitions was unlawful and denied that the riot by the people was birthed by their encouragement to have emaSwati continue with the delivery of their petitions.

In handing down the sentence, Judge Mumcy said the court had put into consideration Mabuza and Dube’s mitigation and evidence presented in court.

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She said the court was very much alive to the fact that Mabuza in his unsworn evidence, took much time delving into matters which did not form part of mitigation.

Therefore, the court considered that he was a first-time offender, and as a man of over 40 years during the commission of the offences convicted, he had no brush with the law.

It also considered that he was also in parliament, therefore, he was a good and honourable member of society before then.

In his testimony, he mentioned that he is a family man who has wives and 16 children, some as young as two years old, all of whom look up to him for their living.

Also, the fact that he was a businessman who built his business empire from a humble beginning as he testified that he was born into a family of 21 children, and he was the 16th.

The court also considered that before his arrest he had employed about 500 people and deserves applause in this regard as it contributed to the reduction of his sentence.

“He has lost virtually everything, that is, businesses as they were burned whilst in custody, property repossessed and is facing lawsuits as a result of his incarceration,” she said.

Dube on the other hand, the court took into consideration his educational background as well as the number of children dependent on him.

He also told the court that he was looking after his sickly mother before his arrest.

Being a first-time offender was also considered by the court as well as being an honourable member of society and the people of Ngwempisi bore testimony to that as they elected him to parliament.

The main count the duo was convicted for is in contravention of Section 5 (1) as read with Section 2 (20 (a) to (d) of the Suppression of Terrorism Act 2008 as amended.

According to Judge Mumcy Mabuza and Dube, through their public statements, they encouraged the people to disobey a lawful ban by the then Acting Prime Minister which resulted in the death and injury of persons, damages to property and other serious incidents.

She stated that having considered the personal circumstances of each of the convicted persons, the court needed to look at the seriousness of the crimes.

“In as much as the court is called upon to consider the nature of the crime, what informs the courts is how the offence was committed and the outcome of the prohibited conduct.

What was the impact of the offences herein?” she questioned.

She stated that about 31 witnesses were paraded by the crown asserting the gravity of the offences and the evidence was not disputed by the defence as they were not cross-examined, more particularly on the manner of their execution and outcomes.

Judge Mumcy stated that having recounted the damages experienced by the country as a result of Mabuza and Dube’s utterances and actions, it is apposite to conclude that the days succeeding June 24, 2021, were doomsday in Eswatini.

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Count	Bacede	Mthandeni
Suppression of Terrorism Act	25 years no fine	18 years no fine
First alternative to count 1	15 years no fine	10 years no fine
Second alternative to count 2	15 years no fine	10 years no fine
Murder	15years no fine	10 years no fine
Murder	15 years no fine	10 years no fine
Sentences are to run concurrently and backdated to the date of arrest

 

‘An uncontrollable tongue leads to an indictment’

In handing down her sentence, Judge Mumcy Dlamini said in criminal law, a tongue that cannot be controlled results in an indictment such as presented by the Director of Public Prosecution in Mabuza and Dube’s case.

In civil law, it leads to a suit of defamation.

“Why? The tongue a fire,” she said.

She stated that due to Mabuza and Dube’s utterances, every region was pounced upon by unknown plunders and arsonists. Both the government’s and civilian properties were marauder, vandalised and set ablaze.

Only a few buildings survived the masticate of the fire, sadly, even those buildings whose walls were left standing were nothing else but former ghosts of themselves.

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“No doubt those days shall go down into the echelons of history as the days when a dark cloud covered the country. Businesspeople and employees who were law-abiding citizens were left hopeless and helpless, wrecked and in despair as their hard toil labour was reduced into rubbles of ashes within a short space of time, and some right before their eyes.,” she said.

She highlighted that the total estimated value of the loss of properties was said to be almost a quarter of a billion Emalangeni excluding cash lost in the process.

The Judge added that more pathetically, that was not the only disaster that befell the country. Moreover, no amount of agony could ever resuscitate the lost souls to recompense the loved ones.