Masuku lawyer arrested
2009-06-03 13:04
Johannesburg - A lawyer representing Swaziland's jailed opposition leader Mario Masuku has himself been arrested under the suppression of terrorism act, civil society activists in Africa's last absolute monarchy said on Wednesday.
Thulani Maseko was due to appear in a magistrate's court in the central Swazi city of Manzini on Wednesday morning to be charged over remarks he made at a May Day rally in the city.
Maseko was reported to have spoken approvingly of an attempt last September by two men to bomb a bridge near one of King Mswati III's palaces.
The device exploded prematurely, killing the pair.
The failed attack took place against the backdrop of growing calls in the impoverished kingdom for democracy. Political parties are banned from contesting parliamentary elections in the country of around 1 million people, where the king rules by decree.
Absence of evidence
Mario Masuku, leader of the People's United Democratic Movement (Pudemo), has been in prison since October last year.
Like all political parties in Swaziland, Pudemo is banned.
Masuku was also arrested under the suppression of terrorism act, but in the absence of evidence supporting terrorism-related charges, the charges against him have been downgraded.
He now faces charges under the more wide-ranging Sedition Act. No trial date has been set in his case eight months after his arrest.
Several other members of Pudemo have also been detained in recent months.
Mswati's government has rebuffed calls for multi-party politics, saying the monarchy is a guarantor of stability.
- SAPA