Times Of Swaziland: 6-MONTH COMMUNICATION, VISITATION BAN FOR BACEDE

6-MONTH COMMUNICATION, VISITATION BAN FOR BACEDE
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Mbongiseni Ndzimandze on 08/01/2024 08:53:00


MBABANE – His Majesty’s Correctional Services has imposed a six-month
visitation and communication ban on convicted former Member of Parliament (MP)
Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza.
The curtailing of these rights comes after the former legislator was found
guilty of having repeatedly flouted the Correctional Services Regulations, which
prohibit the possession of articles such as cellphones and unlawful
communication. According to the facility, at least on four different occasions,
Mabuza has faced internal disciplinary hearings, which compelled it to curtail
not only physical visitation, but also his telephonic communication.
Rights
The suspension of these rights was disclosed by the authorities of the
institution, in its papers where it is robustly opposing the application filed
by Mabuza’s children and his wives.
In their application, the wives and children of the former MP want the court to
direct the commissioner general of His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS)
to allow them access and communication to Mabuza.  They claimed that they had
been denied access to him without any lawful cause or justification, hence the
need for the court to intervene. According to Mabuza’s children and wives,
while their access to the former had always been unreasonably restricted, they
were at the very least, been receiving calls from him whenever that was
permitted by the institution, but they had not received same for a long period.
In his answering affidavit, Officer in-Charge of Matsapha Correctional facility,
Jabulani Kunene, said he had been in charge of Mabuza since he was incarcerated
thereat. He informed the court that on September 12, 2023, the applicants’
father (Mabuza) was found in possession of contraband in the form of a
cellphone, which was a prohibited article for offenders within the Correctional
facility. He averred that Section 87 of the Act provided that it is an offence
to convey or supply a prohibited article.  Kunene further highlighted that
Regulation 59 makes it an offence to use or be in possession of a prohibited
article “Possession of contraband is not permitted within the facility and as
such, the applicants’ father was subjected to a disciplinary hearing, found
guilty of contravention of this trite rule and subsequently subjected to a
suspension of privileges, including visitation for a period of six months,”
submitted Kunene.
Rationale
He pointed out that the rationale for taking such a drastic step was that Mabuza
had, up to that point, been a repeat offender, with two prior disciplinary
hearings. Kunene submitted that the six-month period covered the date of October
6, 2023.  It was further his submission that Regulation 59 classified
communicating with a person in contravention of the law as a minor disciplinary
offence.  He went on to state that the aforementioned regulation categorised
disobeying a lawful order of a Correctional officer also as a minor offence.
“Regulation 60, however, classifies repeating a minor Correctional centre
offence after having been punished twice for it as a major offence,” contended
Kunene.
He informed the court that Mabuza found himself in this final category and the
institution could not be expected not to maintain a good order and discipline
within the Correctional centre. It was his contention that Mabuza’s visitation
rights were restricted and/or suspended in accordance with the law.  He further
denied the assertion by his (Mabuza) children that the limitation of the
incarcerated person’s rights to visitation had been done unreasonably. “The
restrictions imposed on the applicants’ father have been due to his repeated
failure and/or refusal to adhere to good order and discipline required by the
legal framework regulating the running of the Correctional facility,” he
argued. He acknowledged that there were rights held by families of persons kept
in custody to gain reasonable access and communication with their relatives held
in custody.
Duty
Kunene, however, pointed out that it was equally recognised that there was a
corresponding duty placed upon the person held in custody to conduct himself in
accordance with the law, so as to ensure that his family members were not
precluded from enjoying this right. Kunene mentioned that the reciprocal nature
of the relationship between the Correctional facility and the person held in
custody was such that if the rules and regulations on conduct were adhered to,
neither the person held in custody, nor his family went through a limitation on
visitation and communication rights. The former legislator is currently detained
at the Matsapha Maximum Prison with his co-accused, former Ngwempisi MP
Mthandeni Dube. Mabuza was recently found guilty of terrorism and murder, among
other charges, together with his co-accused, and they are still to make their
submissions on why they feel the court should not impose a stiff sentence.  They
are expected to make submissions on sentence in March this year. The matter,
where Mabuza’s children want to be granted access to him, is still pending in
court. Appearing for the applicants is senior lawyer Ben J Simelane, while for
the Correctional facility are lawyers from the chamber of the attorney general
(AG).