MPS’ BAIL MATTER: CROWN WANTS ‘CECE’S AFFIDAVIT REMOVED

MBABANE - The Crown has filed an application to remove the affidavit of resigned police officer Cebile ‘Cece’ Shongwe as part of the defence’s evidence in bail application of the two MPs.

The former police officer recently filed an affidavit confirming that she was allegedly informed by resigned Army Commander Jeffrey Tshabalala that MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube were arrested allegedly as per the King’s instruction.
Shongwe’s affidavit has been attached to the MPs’ replying papers in the matter in which they seek to be granted bail after Judge Mumcy Dlamini dismissed their initial application.

Contention

The Crown’s contention is that the applicants (Mabuza and Dube) were now seeking to bring in new evidence outside the court papers they filed when they launched their fresh bail application. In its application to strike out, the Crown stated that it wanted the court to issue an order striking out as a whole the confirmatory affidavit of Shongwe and others. In the event the court finds otherwise, the prosecution pleaded that it should be allowed to file any further affidavits rebutting the contents of Shongwe’s confirmatory affidavit.

The application was made before Judge Mumcy Dlamini and the defence asked that it should be given time to file its answering papers as it was opposing same. In the confirmatory affidavit, Shongwe, who is believed to have left the country upon resigning from the police service, confirms that resigned Army Commander Tshabalala informed her that the arrest of the duo was allegedly as per an instruction from the King. She further confirms that in the audio recording, which went viral on social media, the voices belong to her and Tshabalala, who was narrating to her how the initiative to arrest the two MPs came about. According to Shongwe, during the conversation with the former army commander, he overtly told her that it was the King who had directed that the two legislators should be arrested following the burning of property and looting that occurred in the country during the political unrest which also saw people being killed and injured. The veracity of these allegations is still to be tested in court.

In the audio recording, as per the confirmatory affidavit filed by Shongwe, the resigned army commander allegedly told her how the plan to have the duo arrested was hatched by the country’s authorities and how the national commissioner of police was allegedly given strict instructions by the King to arrest  Mabuza, Dube and  Siphofaneni Member of Parliament, Mduduzi ‘Magawugawu’ Simelane.

Strike

The Crown is also seeking an order to strike out the confirmatory affidavit that was filed by Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko, who is representing the applicants (Mabuza and Bacede). In the affidavit which the Crown now wants removed, Maseko submitted that on August 20, 2021, he was handed a number of statements of witnesses. “I have perused them carefully and categorically state that the statements are all, in essence, of general nature, dealing with looting and damages suffered by the witnesses. Not one of these witnesses implicates the applicants (Mabuza and Dube),” argued the lawyer. Maseko further highlighted that at this stage, he had not received any further statements or any evidentiary material, linking the applicants with the alleged crimes. “During the pre- trial conference in August 2021, the prosecution undertook to serve us with audio and video recordings and further statements of witnesses by close of business on that day to date we have not received any,” submitted Maseko. It was further his averment that the criminal case against the applicants remained weak.

Lawyer

The human rights lawyer also brought it to the attention of the court that he had a conversation with resigned police officer Cebile ‘Cece’ Shongwe, who informed him about her conversation with the retired army commander. “She informed me that the retired army commander told her that the arrest of the applicants was effected at the instance and instruction from His Majesty King Mswati III, who felt that the applicants were the cause of the political unrest and were undermining his authority,” alleged Maseko. Further, the Crown is also seeking an order to strike out the confirmatory affidavits of Nomphumelelo Mkhonta, Phile Mabuza, Gugu Hazel Baxter, Richard Vilane and certain portions of the applicants’ affidavits. The Crown in this matter is represented by Principal Crown Counsel Macebo Nxumalo and Absalom Makhanya.

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