JENNIFER DU PONT WINS ROUND ONE

Former MP Jennifer Du Pont (in glasses) among the women who attended the residents meeting. (File: Pics)

MBABANE – High Court Judge Nkululeko Hlophe yesterday ordered the Elections and Boundaries Commission (EBC) to avail all secret ballot papers and the voters’ roll used at Ludzibini for verification.

 The verification is to ascertain whether the voters were checked against the voters roll.
Ludzibini is under Timphisini Inkhundla in northern Hhohho.
This comes after former Timp-hisini Member of Parliament (MP) Jennifer Du Pont approached the court for an order that the secondary elections under this constituency be stopped.

She alleged that on the date of the primary elections and prior to that date, a number of anomalies, in breach of the Constitution and the Elections Act, occurred, which in her assessment warranted the annulment of the results.
Du Pont, who lost to Apton Ndlovu, who has also been cited in her application, wants the court to issue an order compelling Chief Magudvulela to call a community meeting with immediate effect and retract the statement he allegedly made.

The judge also ordered that during the verification, counsel for all the parties and officers from EBC and the concerned parties should be present. The verification will be conducted at the EBC offices at Nkhanini today. The Registrar of the High Court or his delegate was ordered to compile a report of his findings and forward it to the court.

“Having heard the argument from all counsel involved in this matter, I make the following order; the first respondent (Chairman of the EBC) be and hereby directed to avail all secret ballot papers used at Ludzibini polling station under Timphisini Inkhundla for verification on whe-ther the voters were checked against the voters’ roll,” Judge Hlophe said.

The former legislator, a nurse by profession, is now seeking an order declaring the results of the Primary elections conducted on August 24, 2013 null and void. She further wants the High Court to direct the EBC to start afresh the primary elections at Ludzibini Chiefdom.
She is also seeking an order compelling the EBC to declare that she is a competent candidate to be voted for in the position of Member of Parliament, despite her widow status.

She is represented by Manzini based lawyer Nhlanhla Ginindza from N.E Ginindza Attorneys.  Respondents in the matter are the Chairman of the EBC, Chief Magudvulela, the Attorney General and Ndlovu.
Du Pont submitted that on August 3, 2013 with three others, they were nominated to contest for elections at Ludzibini Chiefdom for Member of Parliament under the Timphisini Inkhundla.

She stated that in a meeting held at Ludzibini Chiefdom on August 24, 2013 Chief Magudvulela allegedly directly exerted undue influence on the community not to vote for her since she was a widow and allegedly still in mourning.
These are allegations contained in an affidavit whose merits are still to be contested in court.

“I submit that Section 78 declares the action of the chief unlawful and criminal and the effect of such conduct by the chief rendered the election not free and fair and contrary to Section 84(1) of the Constitution, which provides that; subject to the provision of this Constitution, the people of Swaziland have a right to be heard and be represented by their own freely chosen representative in the government of the country,” she said.

She further stated that Ludzibini is a predominantly rural chiefdom ruled by Chief Magudvulela who is a footstool of the King; hence he commands authority and by Swazi Culture it is expected that his subjects will take heed of his advice.
“I state further that the emphasis placed on the comments made, placed more weight such that they were basically directives more than commentary advice as the following; I urge you not to disappoint the country’s authorities by electing a candidate whom they cannot use because of the technicality of mourning,” she said.

Du Pont alleged that the chief, during the meeting, also stated that he was aware of the constitutional right of women to choose to mourn the deaths of their husbands but Swazi Law and Custom was superior to women’s rights.
The chief, according to Du Pont’s application, is alleged to have told the residents that; “lokuphetse tsine laka Ngwane lilanga nenyeti khohlwa ngemtsenshwana wakho. NgesiSwati sakitisi solo umnyama. Mkhetseni washa wena lilahle.”

She said to the ordinary man in the area, this amounted to a threat of sanction against voting for her as a widow because she was still mourning despite doing the necessary cleansing ceremony with her in-laws.
She said, over and abovethat , it was her enshrined constitutional right not to be compelled to undergo or uphold any custom to which her conscience was opposed.

 She alleged that the statements were highly discriminatory against her and they resulted in her right to be voted into Parliament violated.
She further submitted that she does not subscribe to the notion of Chief Magudvulela that a widow should not be voted into Parliament since we now live in a society governed by the Constitution, which is the Supreme law of the country.
She further submitted that while she was not willing to take these utterances seriously, she could no longer ignore them after observing the sudden twist of events and turnout of her potential voters.

She alleged that some of her potential voters clearly stated that after the verbal advice on August 17, 2013 during the meeting called by the chief, they allegedly decided not to vote at all yet they had registered for the exercise.

winner Apton defends Chief Magudvulela

MBABANE – The winner of the primary elections at Ludzibini under Timphisini constituency, Apton Ndlovu, has since come out to defend Chief Magudvulela.

In his opposing affidavit, Ndlovu denied that the Chief uttered the alleged words during a meeting.
“I further state that I and many others were present at such a meeting and we were surprised when the media reported that the Chief uttered the alleged offending words. I deny that the chief uttered the alleged words and the applicant (Du Pont) is put to strict proof thereof,” he claimed.
In his affidavit, Chief Magudvulela also vehemently denied the allegations levelled against him by Jennifer Du Pont.

He alleged that in the said meeting his mission was to remind the people of his community about what was said by the King at the recent Sibaya where he urged the Swazi populace to make sure that they elected people of integrity.

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