MATSAPHA:Mthandeni Dube,the convicted eSwatini pro-democracy Member of Parliament (MP), is allegedly making efforts to present cattle and apologize to King Mswati through the “kwembula ingubo” Eswatini Customary Law practice.
This comes after the MP was found guilty of terrorism and other criminal charges,he was arrested together with Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza in a politically motivated criminal case that was strongly condemned by international human rights organizations.
The two(2) MPs were arrested and persecuted by the State as per an order allegedly issued by King Mswati and subsequently charged with terrorism merely for demanding democratic reforms.
Another MP Mduduzi Magawugawu Simelane took to his heels shortly after receiving information suggesting that, a warrant of arrest “has been issued against him”, he then formed a political party that failed to secure seats in Parliament after participating in the recent elections on individual merit.
“Kwembula ingubo eNkhosini” means seeking an audience with the King to appeal, apologise or seek mercy on a matter that has been concluded by other structures that include emaBandla (traditional councils) and the courts, Mswati rules eSwatini as an absolute Monarch.
It has been disclosed through senior Correctional Services officials that,for the past few days,MP Mthandeni Dube has been meeting relatives at Matsapha Prison and making calls in an effort to assemble a team of his close relatives who will meet the King.
Reached for comments on Thursday evening,Hazel Dube, the convicted MP’s wife said,she doesn’t even want to be involved in this matter, accusing her husband of turning his back on her when taking critical decisions.
Dube’s wife alleges that,on Tuesday she went to meet the MP at Matsapha Prison but clarified that such things were discussed behind her back because the relationship was no longer stable with her husband.
”I don’t want to even involve myself in this because mine ngisaliwakati.Even on Tuesday, I went to check on him with the children, but he wasn’t demonstrating happiness to see his family, he long dumped me,” said the wife to the convicted MP.
Saliwakati is a Siswati word referring to a wife who “has been dumped by her husband” but continues to stay within the marital home to raise children in the absence of evidence linking her to adultery or witchcraft being grounds for divorce in eSwatini culture.
But confidential information in our possession suggests that, the MP “feels isolated” and forgotten inside prison, and when speaking to one of those who might assist him in presenting the cattle to the King, he allegedly said, he no longer sees any value in being in prison calling for democracy.
”Ayikho lentfo lesiyihlalele lana, it’s better to apologise to the King not because I feel I was wrong.The truth is, we never started any political unrest.But for me to be released, I must humble myself and apologise to the King. It’s difficult to be here when you have a family that is looking up to you to put food on the table,” said the MP when speaking to one of those who might assist him in meeting the King.
But the conversation between MP Dube and one of the trusted individuals who might assist in ensuring that he appeals to the King suggests that,MP Bacede Mabuza is said to be totally against the idea of presenting cattle and apologising to the King.
It is alleged that, for some time now,MP Mthandeni Dube has been trying to be loyal to the prison authorities by ‘spying’ on Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza and alerting them every-time Mabuza was in possession of a cellphone.
The warders would then conduct a search within the prison cells at night and heavily assault MP Bacede Mabuza before ‘giving’ MP Mthandeni Dube a minor beating, just as a cover-up that the information was leaked by him.
It has been disclosed through sources within the MP’s legal team that, Dube allegedly started to be loyal after being subjected to severe beatings and forced into submission.
But before that, MP Mthandeni Dube allegedly complained that his views during consultations with lawyers or the legal team were not considered or taken seriously just because he doesn’t have money and Bacede Mabuza was funding everything.
The insiders further alleged that Dube even stopped eating food that was provided by MP Bacede Mabuza’s wives, as he felt this was turning him into a beggar yet he was also a man.
But despite the conflict between the two(2) inside prison, betrayal and persecution, it is alleged that MP Bacede Mabuza would motivate Dube to be strong, saying the Nation was looking up to them in the calls for democracy.
Efforts to reach Ben J. Simelane, the lawyer representing the pro-democracy MPs, proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report.
But a source within the MPs’ legal team confirmed that MP Mthandeni was preparing to present cattle to the King and apologize,adding that it had been a while since he took that decision.
“As the legal team,we are aware of this move by our client to apologize to the King but we can’t openly confirm it because our duty is to defend our client in court, not other forums. We have been aware of this move for some time now, but we were hiding it because we felt the people would be disappointed. Even their disagreement inside prison, we have tried our best to make sure that this doesn’t reach the public.But just because it has reached you, we can’t stop you from doing your job," said one of the MPs’ lawyers, whose name cannot be revealed as he said, this might compromise them in court.
Reached for comments by this Swaziland News on Friday,Percy Simelane,the King’s Spokesperson, said he was not aware of the move by the MP as such an audience with the King “is normally done” behind closed doors.
”We are not aware of the alleged intent by Mr. Dube to ask for the King's clemency over the crimes our courts found him guilty to have committed during the 2021 political uprising.This kind of audience with the King is normally done behind closed doors and becomes public after the conclusion, depending on the nature of the issue to be looked into.What we are all waiting to hear about is the sentencing of Mr. Dube and his partner next year, as concluded publicly by the courts,” said the King’s Spokesperson.
Responding to this publication on the subject matter, Brian Sangweni, the Spokesperson of eSwatini’s main political party, the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), said the MP might have been ill-advised to consider apologising to the King.
“Others have tried to present cattle to the King, seeking to apologise after being convicted by the courts, but the King did not intervene.Even in this case, the King might not release him because Mswati wants to parade them as an example to other MPs who might think of behaving like them,” said the PUDEMO Spokesperson.
Convicted MP Mthandeni Dube.