MTHANDENI COMMENDS JUDGE MUMCY AFTER BAIL DENIED

MBABANE – Judge Mumcy Dlamini got a pat on the back yesterday for dismissing the Hosea and Ngwempisi MPs Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and Mthandeni Dube’s bail application.

It came from what many may consider an unlikely source. Shortly after Judge Dlamini issued the ex tempore judgment, whose reasons will follow in due course, MP Dube said the judge had done a good thing by not granting their application for bail. The judge also dismissed the Crown’s application to reopen its case.

The Ngwempisi MP was addressing their supporters in the courtroom after the judgment had been issued. Among the supporters were Members of Parliament, who included Nhlambeni MP Manzi Zwane, Gilgal MP Sandla Fakudze and Somntongo MP Dumisani Mbhamali, others were Ngwane National Liberatory Congress  (NNLC) President Sibongile Mazibuko, National Public Service and Allied Workers Union (NAPSAWU) Secretary General Oscar Nkambule and others.

Dismissal

When MP Dube first told them that the dismissal of their bail application would work to their advantage, he had to explain himself as what he said was seemingly unexpected. MP Dube, when commending Judge Dlamini on her decision to deny them bail, said if their application had been granted, stringent conditions would have been attached, which would not have been favourable to them.

The NNLC President chipped in and asked if the MPs would have returned to Parliament. MP Dube continued to explain that their release from custody would have seen them being constantly monitored. He said during the monitoring, their lives would have been in danger ‘because they have started shooting people’. “So, (Judge) Mumcy has done a good job by not releasing us. We are safe where we are,” said MP Dube.

Safe

One of the MPs, who had joined their incarcerated colleagues’ supporters, enquired from MP Dube: “How are you safe when they sometimes assault you?” The Ngwempisi MP’s explanation was that the issue had been fixed and those who were responsible for assaulting them had apologised and the matter was put to bed. He said the Correctional officers realised their error and apologised.

According to MP Dube, as much as being in prison was not a good thing, their safety was of paramount importance. The NNLC president added that the two MPs would continue to live if they remained in prison. The MP also told their supporters that from the dreams they had in prison, a lot was being ‘cooked’ for them, as a result, remaining behind bars was the better option. 

“What purpose does it serve to be released and then two months down the line you hear that Mthandeni has been shot?” MP Dube wondered. He further said since they were incarcerated, they were not aware of what was happening outside. “Siboshiwe tsine, so lokungephandle asikwati” Most of the supporters who had gathered for the address concurred with the legislator. Mazibuko said it was God’s plan that the bail application was dismissed.
“Kwale Nkulunkulu mntfwanami (it was God’s plan my son). We called for prayer. This decision came from God. We prayed about it. In the end they will be released and just in time. What is key is that they will come out victorious, baliphetse ngetandla lelive. What a great day,” the NNLC president said. MP Dube said they would come out of prison eventually. He urged their supporters to understand God’s plan.

Expected

Others who discussed the dismissal of the bail application were overheard saying that they expected the outcome.
“It was obvious that they would not have been released. The court denied their bail applications twice and they were also not successful in the Supreme Court. Nothing would have changed today.  “Even though the MPs’ circumstances had changed, hence this bail application, the outcome would not have been different. After all, it’s the same court, same judge and same everything. I would have been excited had they been released but I’m also not surprised that they were denied bail,” said a supporter, who preferred to remain anonymous.

Another supporter said the denial of the MPs’ application for bail was a strategy to prolong their stay in prison until the 2023 national elections. “This is systematically done to keep them away from the public and their supporters to ensure that they don’t take part in the elections next year, so that they will not be part of the next Parliament. That’s how I see it,” said the supporter. Judge Dlamini, in about a minute and a half, read her decision on both the bail application and the Crown’s application to reopen its case.  

Arguments

The judge said: “I have considered both applications, mainly the respective arguments advanced by counsel together with the pleadings thereon. It is my considered view and ruling that (1) the application at the instance of the Crown is hereby declined. (2) Similarly, the application by the defence. Reasons for the above shall follow in due course. (3) Case Number 213/2021 is postponed for a roll call, which shall take place on the first day of the new calendar year of 2023.”

When the MPs’ bail application was argued last month, Judge Dlamini said she had to establish what happened in the Supreme Court, where the legislators’ appeals against their two other dismissed bail applications were heard.
The MPs filed their third bail application on August 30, 2022. When the matter was argued, Advocate Van Vuuren submitted that the High Court retained the right to entertain a bail application at any stage of the trial before the accused persons’ conviction.

He said the circumstances raised by the MPs in the application were vastly different. Advocate Gareth Leppan, who represents the Crown, submitted that the Supreme Court struck off the roll the ‘new application’ for bail and it was not to be pursued without leave.  The advocate said the new bail application, as per the Supreme Court, was not to be pursued without its leave.

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