MBEDZI HANDED OVER TO SA PRISON AUTHORITIES

MBABANE –Amid calls by political organisations who were demanding his release from prison, political activist Amos Mbedzi has been handed over to prison authorities in his home country.

The name of Mbedzi, who was referred to as a political prisoner, has been a common feature in political rallies and other events, with those in attendance calling for his immediate release.
Mbedzi, who has been sick for some time, left the country for South Africa yesterday after undergoing medical tests at the Mbabane Government Hospital. Armed Correctional Services officers were deployed at the hospital to ensure his safety while he was undergoing the medical check-ups.

Hospital

While doctors were busy examining Mbedzi, there were students from various institutions who had assembled at the entrance of the hospital singing and calling for his release as they believed that the charges which resulted in his conviction were trumped up.  After undergoing the medical check-ups, Mbedzi was transported out of the hospital in a car from His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS), which was escorted by two others with armed officers. It was later gathered that the political activist was transported out of the country through Ngwenya/Oshoek Border Gate.

He was sentenced to 85 years by the then High Court Judge Bheki Maphalala, who is now the country’s chief justice. Mbedzi was found guilty on two counts of murder after the death of Musa ‘MJ’ Dlamini and South African national Jack Govender when a bomb exploded in a vehicle they were travelling in at Lozitha Bridge. He was convicted of five charges, including sedition and murder and was subsequently sentenced to 85 years and six months in prison. The sentence was broken down as follows; 25 years imprisonment for the murder of ‘MJ’ Dlamini, 25 years imprisonment for the murder of Govender, 20 years for attempted murder, 15 years for sedition and six months for unlawful entry into the Kingdom of Eswatini.
Since the judge ordered the sentences to run concurrently, Mbedzi was sentenced to a total of 26 years.

Mbedzi who has been in custody for 10 years after he was convicted and sentenced in 2012, will now serve the remaining part of his sentence in the Republic of South Africa.  When he was sentenced, he had already spent four years in custody after his arrest in 2008. In 2014, it was reported that the South African Communist Party (SACP) organised a campaign called ‘Release Amos Mbedzi’, which was held at Makonde Stadium. Mbedzi, an ANC and MMVA member, was last seen at home in September 2008 during the funeral service of his grandmother. Last year, about 20 people failed to deliver a petition to HMCS in Matsapha, where they demanded the release of Mbedzi and two incarcerated MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube.

Guilty

Coming to the judgment, Mbedzi was found guilty of murder after the deaths of, MJ and Govender, after a bomb explode in a car they were travelling in on September 20, 2008. Mbedzi sustained serious injuries to his face and head, but survived the blast because he was about 10m away from the car when the bomb went off. It exploded prematurely while being assembled by Dlamini and Govender.

The court found that ‘mens rea (the mental state of a person) in the form of dolus eventualis, did exist: the accused meant to bomb and destroy the bridge but the bomb killed the deceased’. This is a misapplication of dolus eventualis, just as in the Pistorius trial in which the athlete was found not guilty of murder by the High Court. The Supreme Court of Appeal later overturned this verdict. Mbedzi was also found guilty on three other counts; sedition, entering and being in the country illegally, and illegal possession of explosives. He pleaded guilty only to the last charge. According to court evidence, the three entered Swaziland (Eswatini) from South Africa, intending to plant a bomb under the bridge.

Confirming the latest developments, HMCS Commissioner General Phindile Dlamini said the transfer of Mbedzi was in accordance with the transfer of Convicted Offenders Act 10 of 2001. Dlamini said the Act was in line with the international obligation, which governed the transfer of offenders between States. She said the country ratified the South African Development Community (SADC) protocol on the exchange or transfer of convicted offender between States.

Dlamini stated that after the successful bilateral negotiations between Eswatini and the Republic of South Africa, she, with assistance from Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Pholile Shakantu, facilitated the transfer of Mbedzi to the Department of Correctional Services in South Africa, where he is expected to complete his sentence. She stated that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Coorperation also contributed in the transfer of Mbedzi.  Dlamini stated that the process would have been completed earlier had it not been for COVID-19. She thanked all stakeholders for their collective effort in ensuring that Mbedzi was transferred to his home country.

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