NEW TWIST; MTHANDENI NOT APPEALING, HIRES NEW LAWYER

MBABANE – Former Ngwempisi MP Mthandeni Dube will not take the legal route of appealing against his conviction and sentencing by the High Court of Eswatini.

Dube has since instructed his previous lawyer to leave him out of the appeal he had filed with co-accused former Member of Parliament (MP) Bacede Mabuza, where he was the second appellant. Papers filed at the Supreme Court suggested that the appeal had been initiated jointly, by the two, where 31 grounds were raised. Mabuza and Dube were sentenced to prison terms of 25 and 18 years, respectively. Both were initially arrested in 2021, for contravening the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008, as well as the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act of 1938. They were found guilty of all charges against them, including terrorism, sedition and murder. The pair has been kept in custody ever since.

Detached

In a sudden twist of events, Dube has since detached himself from the legal team led by Ben J Simelane and advocates and instructed another lawyer, Sandile Motsa from SB Motsa Attorneys, to consider other avenues of appealing the judgment. Motsa confirmed having received instructions from Dube. “After the sentencing, I met with him and he said he felt even if he took the legal route to appeal the sentencing, it would not yield any fruit. He said he would not be part of the appeal lodged by Ben J Simelane Attorneys. He made it clear that this does not mean he will not appeal the judgment, but not at this stage,” he said.

He said Dube felt that he was convicted on grounds ‘that he does not even see’ and appealing in court could be a waste of resources. Asked what other avenues were at Dube’s disposal, Motsa said his client had embarked on a consultative exercise and had not come up with the fitting avenue to which he could appeal.“He is in no way saying that he accepts the conviction and sentencing, but he has no confidence that if he were to lodge an appeal at this stage, anything would change. He basically feels that it would be a waste of resources to do so. Once he is done with consultations, I think he will announce the next step,” Motsa said.

Motsa said Dube communicated to Simelane and the instructed advocates that he would no longer be a part of the team. Even before the judgment was pronounced by High Court Judge Mumcy Dlamini, Motsa said Dube had initiated discussions with him on the matter. He expressed surprise that Dube had already been cited as second appellant in the matter before the Supreme Court. “Maybe there was a breakdown in communication,” he said. Motsa said he had personally not had a conversation with Simelane over Dube’s issue.“I presume that Dube will raise funds individually for the new legal leg that he is taking,” Motsa said when responding to questions on whether Dube’s legal costs would now be separately funded.
When the appeal lodged this week finally appears for oral submissions, Motsa said it was unclear if Dube would appear in the accused dock as has always been the case since the case resumed. Dube’s family asked not to comment on the issue yesterday.

Appeal

In the appeal case lodged this week, 31 grounds were outlined, arguing why the duo felt Judge Mumcy Dlamini was allegedly wrong in coming to her conclusion, which resulted in them being sentenced. The appeal submitted that the sentences that were imposed on the two induced a sense of shock. The appeal also asks the Supreme Court to consider the sentences imposed by Judge Dlamini, arguing that the court failed to take into account that they were first-time offenders, and that they did not actively take part in the damage that was caused or in causing the death of any person.

The conviction and appeal of the two has attracted a chorus of criticism from human rights advocates, proponents of freedom of expression and the civil society. Meanwhile, ever since the matter started in court, different lawyers represented the two, including the late Human Rights Lawyer Thulani Maseko, who was eventually shot dead by unknown people. The two were also denied bail by the High Court. A warrant of arrest was issued against another former MP Mduduzi ‘Gawuzela’ Simelane, who is now living in exile.

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