The following bank account has been set up to receive contributions towards the E100,000 bail for Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni.

Bank: First National Bank [FNB]

NAME: M. Mkhwanazi & Associates

Account number: 62057572507

Branch Code: 280164

Mbabane-SWAZILAND

SWIFT Code: FIRNSZMX

As both Maxwell and Musa are now out on bail, further funds are need to pay their legal fees and to reinburse Maxwell’s father for the part of his son’s legal fees that he has raised himself.

NGO’s:

Sikelela Dlamini, Project Coordinator, Swaziland United Democratic Front, Swaziland

Dumezweni Dlamini, Project Coordinator, Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice, Swaziland

Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, Chairperson of The Swaziland National Union of Students (Kwaluseni Campus Branch), Vice President of the University of Swaziland Students Representative Council, Swaziland

Lucky Lukhele, Spokeperson, Swaziland Solidarity Network

Musa Hlophe, Coordinator, The Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organizations (SCCCO)

Isobel Frye, Director, Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute, South Africa

The Youth Assembly of the  National Constitutional Assembly (NCA), Zimbabwe

T. Mashava, Information Officer, Youth Forum, Zimbabwe

Phil ya Nangoloh, Executive Director, NamRights, Namibia

Morten Nielsen, Information Officer,  Africa Contact, Denmark

Mark Beacon, Campaigns Manager, Action for Southern Africa, England

Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers, England

Thomas Schmidt (lawyer), Secretary General, ELDH European Association of Lawyers for Democracy and World Human Rights, Duesseldorf, Germany

Urko Aiartza Azurtza, Lawyer, Member of the Basque Lawyers Association Eskubideak, Basque Country, Europe

Basque Obseravatory of Human Rights – Behatokia, Basque Country, Europe

Group Against Torture of the Basque Country – TAT, Basque Country, Europe

Association of Relatives of Basque Political Prisoners – Etxerat, Basque Country, Europe

Students’ organisations:

All-Africa Students Union

The National Union of Students in Denmark (DSF), Denmark

Free Forum – Social Democratic Students, Denmark

The Student Representative Body at the University of Marburg (AStA Marburg), Germany

The Free Education Movement Marburg, Germany

Demokratische Linke Marburg, Germany

AStA (representetive students’ body) of the Technical University Berlin, Germany

Danielle Grufferty, Vice President, NUS UK

Direct Action Students’ Union, Ukraine

Public institutions:

Fanie  Jansen van Rensburg (DPhil), Research Associate, Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Nkokone Rosemary Sambo, Limpopo Provincial Government, Department of Local Government and Housing, South Africa

Velly Mashao, Department of Home Affairs, South Africa

Siyabonga Gashi, Regional Secretary, SADTU Eastern Region, Mthatha, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Individuals:

Pius Rinto, Swaziland

Pamela Hanyati, Zambia

John Barter, Assistant Headteacher, Head of Sixth Form, Abbeyfield School, Northampton, England

Julian Reitstein, Kenilworth, Cape Town, South Africa

Ndalo Ncele, South Africa

Paulette Pierson Mathy, Hon. Professor of International Law, Brussels , Belgium

David Kenworthy, Cambridge, England

Daniel Bendix, Berlin, Germany

Gerd Brodowski, Hagen, Germany

Richard Koumbos, Berlin, Germany

Anne Silje Løvhaugen, Oslo, Norway

Maria Dyveke Styve, Bergen, Norway

Jan Andersen, Copenhagen​, Denmark

And hundreds of signatories of the change.org petition. 

Contact us at freemaxwelldlamini@gmail.com to be added to this list.

Musa is also out!

“Musa Ngubeni finally left the Manzini Remand Centre at 10:20 a.m this morning [9. February] and headed for his parental home at Mankhayane,” Dumezweni Dlamini of the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice told the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign.

Musa Ngubeni, a law graduate from the University of Swaziland and former student leader, was detained, allegedly tortured, and charged with being in possession of explosives together with student leader Maxwell Dlamini during the April 12 Swazi Uprising last year – one of the largest protests against Swaziland’s absolute monarchy crushed by police and security forces.

”He is grateful to all those supported them whilst inside prison and the pressure exerted from Europe for their release. He said that there is no doubt that had it been not because of the campaign internationally for their release such an amount wouldn’t have been collected. Musa further requested the democracy loving people of the world to continue fund raising for the case as they are still left with the legal fees for the attorney, which they are to pay.”

Musa Ngubeni assured everyone following his and Maxwell Dlamini’s case that the allegations against them were false. They had never seen nor laid their hands on the blasting materials and detonators that the police claimed to have found in their possession, he insisted. “They saw it for the first time when the police showed it to them and it was never inside any of their belongings or bags,” says Dumezweni Dlamini.

After having been released after having spent nearly ten months in prison, Musa Ngubeni and Maxwell Dlamini now have to adhere to inflexible bail conditions. Amongst other things Musa has to report four times a week to the Mbabane Regional Police Station, which is a 200 km round trip, even though he could easily have reported at the nearest police station in stead, which is within walking distance of his home.

7. February 2012

Maxwell is out, Musa to come
We are grateful that Comrade Maxwell is out. We are heavily indebted to all our friends locally and abroad. You have shown us the true spirit of humanity, sisterhood and brotherhood. Comrade Musa Ngubeni is still in jail and information we have is that his bail money is about to reach the required quota. Comrade Ngubeni is one of the finest comrades and former students leader

Sibusiso Magnificent Nhlabatsi
Students liason intern
The Centre for Human Rights and Development
snhlabatsi@dignityfirst.org
www.dignityfirst.org
University of Swaziland SRC President, academic year 2011/12.

6. February 2012

Student activists finally bailed out
SSN statement – 6th February, 2012

The Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) would like to thank all the people who sacrificed their hard earned money and contributed it towards the release-on-bail of Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni, the two student leaders who were arrested last April under false charges of being in possession of explosives. Maxwell Dlamini is already out of jail, while Musa Ngubeni is due out in the coming few days.

While it is definitely a positive development that they can now attend trials from the comfort of their homes, practically speaking they are still imprisoned as their bail conditions are inhumanely stringent. Moreover, history has shown that the state deliberately allow political cases to drag on for decades in the hope of frustrating activists and denying them the right to pursue their political course.

It is imperative, therefore, that all progressive Swazis put pressure on the king’s government to drop these false charges against all political prisoners completely if the country’s judiciary fails to finalize their cases within the next few months.

Issued by the Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN]
Contact: Lucky Lukhele –spokesperson, 072 502 4141

4. February 2012

Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign press statement on the release on bail of Swazi student leader Maxwell Dlamini

We are delighted that Maxwell Dlamini has been released by Swaziland’s High Court even though judge Bheki Maphalala had set bail at a colossal 50,000 rand (€5000). We have spoken to Maxwell on the phone yesterday [Friday 3. February], and he says that he is well and in good spirits. We told him that we will not rest until we have ensured his full and unconditional release, as well of the release of his co-accused, Musa Ngubeni. We also demand that the alleged torture of Maxwell and Musa by Swaziland’s police forces and/or armed forces be investigated, and any perpetrators be brought to justice. And we support Swaziland’s democratic movement in their demands for democracy and socio-economic justice for the people in Swaziland, who suffer daily under a repressive, undemocratic and kleptomaniac regime. Ultimately, the only viable solution to cases like Maxwell’s and Musa’s is democracy and socio-economic justice for Swaziland.

3. February 2012

Maxwell Dlamini out on bail

President of the Swaziland National Union of Students, Maxwell Dlamini, has been released on bail today [3. February]. The money for the 50,000 Rand bail (€5000) – the largest bail ever in Swazi legal history –was raised by Maxwell’s father, Nimrod Dlamini, and local and international solidarity movements.

Maxwell Dlamini was detained, allegedly tortured and forced to sign a confession, and charged of possession of explosives last April in connection with one of the largest protests against Swaziland’s absolute monarchy in many years, the so-called April 12 Uprising.

Two thirds of Swaziland’s population survive on less than a dollar a day and hundreds of thousands can only get by on food aid from the UN. Additionally, Swaziland cannot afford to pay its bills and the salaries of its civil servants due to widespread financial overspending and mismanagement by Swaziland’s absolute monarch, King Mswati III, and his government.

Swaziland’s democratic movement still urges potential donors to contribute to the bail of Maxwell Dlamini’s co-accused, Musa Ngubeni, as approximately 15,000 Rand (€1500) is needed to bail him out, as well as to reimburse Maxwell’s father.

“Half the battle has been won, its heart warming to get Maxwell out, now we
must work on Ngubeni and the others,” said Wandile Dludlu from the Swaziland United Democratic Front.

25. January 2012

Maxwell Dlamini nominated for Irish human rights award

President of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), Maxwell Dlamini, has been short-listed for the 2012 Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk. The award is presented by Front Line, an Irish-based human rights organisation founded by former director of the Irish Section of Amnesty International, Mary Lawlor, and is given to “human rights defenders who, through non-violent work, are courageously making an outstanding contribution to the promotion and protection of the human rights of others, often at great personal risk to themselves.”

Maxwell Dlamini was detained, tortured and forced to sign a confession by members of Swaziland’s police and security forces during the so-called April 12 Swazi Uprising, a peaceful protest inspired by the Arab Spring that was brutally clamped down upon by Swazi police and security forces. He is currently on trial for allegedly having been in possession of explosives and remanded and the infamous Manzini Remand Centre. Several representatives of Swaziland’s democratic movement have called the allegations against Maxwell Dlamini absurd, and an international campaign has demanded his unconditional release.

Maxwell is a threat to the undemocratic Swazi regime precisely because “he is a strong and a brave young leader who stands up and defends human rights,” says Dumezweni Dlamini from the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice, a partner organisation of Maxwell’s SNUS. “This is why he has been put behind bars.”

“But there cannot be a better recipient [of the award] than this rare gem of a new generation of activists for the liberation of Swaziland,” says Wandile Dludlu from the Swaziland United Democratic Front. “Maxwell has been at the service of the youth in an oppressive dangerous political environment and has led the students in several campaigns of peaceful protests against unjust government policy. We are proud to be associated with SNUS, who has been producing leaders of a special pedigree like Maxwell. They have made an indelible mark in the history of our struggle for democracy, human rights and good governance.”

The Front Line Defenders Award is presented annually. The winner and his or her organisation is awarded with a cash prize of €15,000. Last years award, presented by former Irish Prime Minister Mary Robinson, was given to the Joint Mobile Group of the Russian Federation “for their outstanding work investigating torture, killings and disappearances in Chechnya.”

18. January 2012

Swazi student leader’s trial begins with prosecution witness lies

The trial of Swazi student leader and political prisoner, Maxwell Dlamini, finally started last week after having been postponed and delayed since last April, where Maxwell Dlamini was apprehended by police and allegedly tortured and forced to sign a confession to being in possession of explosives.

At the trial, Maxwell Dlamini and his co-accused, Musa Ngubeni, pleaded not guilty to the charges of contravening Swaziland’s Explosives Act 4 of 1961. Several representatives of Swaziland’s democratic movement have referred to the charges as ludicrous and the long delay of the trial as a deliberate act by Swaziland’s absolute monarchy to discourage any opposition to its undemocratic and brutal rule.

According to Wandile Dludlu of the Swaziland United Democratic Front, an umbrella movement of democratic forces in Swaziland, over 60 activists attended the court session in a show of support for Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni.

“But the state is playing dirty delaying tactics because they don’t have credible witnesses,” said Dludlu, “The only state witness, superintendent Clement Sihlongonyane [who arrested Maxwell and Musa in April 2011], has already told blatant lies during a gruelling cross examination on the first day.”

According to the Times of Swaziland, Sihlongyane had claimed that Dlamini and Ngubeni led them to the explosives hidden in a forest voluntarily and that “bomb experts confirmed that the red, black and grey cables which were hidden in a white shoe box were indeed explosives.”

“Sihlongyane later complained to court of not being well,” Wandile Dludlu said. “But on the second day of the trial, after the magistrate granted him relief to go to hospital, he came outside court to joke with his colleagues when Maxwell’s mother confronted him about the morality of his behaviour. He ran amok with all sorts of insults right in front of everybody.”

The case is set to continue on the15th and 16th of February, the further delay being due to the alleged illness of superintendent Sihlongonyane.

13. January 2012

Maxwell trial started

(from Times of Swaziland)

The first day of trial for the two explosives suspects, Maxwell Thanduk’khanya Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni began yesterday amid much drama.

This was after police and political activists were engaged in a showdown after the latter were ordered out of the courtroom for being inappropriately dressed.
(…)
The cross-examination of the detective saw the magistrate warning the explosives suspects’ lawyer not to raise his voice in the courtroom.

This drama began after Mandla Mkhwanazi wanted some specification of the time police officers arrived at the Ngubeni homestead. Clement Sihlongonyane insisted it was around 11pm but Mkhwanazi told him not to mislead the court, he wanted him to tell the court the exact time of arrival at the homestead. Mkhwanazi raised his voice and repeated his question, asking Sihlongonyane to be specific about the time. Senior Magistrate Joe Gumedze intervened and told Mkhwanazi not to raise his voice.
(…)
A detective yesterday led evidence to describe how the two explosives’ suspects allegedly led them to the explosives hidden in a forest. Almost a year after the two explosives suspects Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni were arrested, the first day of their trial begun yesterday.

The charge sheet was read for the first time and the Principal Crown from the High Court, Sikhumbuzo Fakudze was brought to prosecute the case. Both pleaded not guilty to the two possessions of explosives charges. The Detective Assistant Superintendent who led the police who arrested the two, Clement Sihlongonyane, was the first witness to lead evidence. He narrated how they arrested Dlamini at the Tiger City Filling Station.

“We introduced ourselves as police officers and cautioned him according to the judge’s rule.

“We then told him about the nature of the investigation and he opted to say something. He then led us to Mbikwakhe at Hezekiel Ngubeni’s homestead, Musa’s parental place, at about 11pm,” Sihlongonyane said.

He said, upon arrival, Ngubeni was not in and the police had to wait for him in his sitting room, together with his younger brother. Sihlongonyane said Ngubeni ended up arriving only at 1:30am and, upon entry to the house, he screamed when he saw the police.

“He was also cautioned according to the judge’s rule; he then led us to a nearby forest in the presence of his counterpart where there were hidden plastics of explosives.

“We did not attempt to tamper with them since we had involved bomb experts from the Royal Swaziland Police when going to the crime scene,” Sihlongonyane said.
(…)
Detective Assistant Superintendent Clement Sihlongonyane said the bomb experts confirmed that the red, black and grey cables which were hidden in a white shoe box were indeed explosives. He said when they asked the suspects to produce a permit or licence for the possession of the explosives, they failed to do so.

“They were then formally charged and arrested for being found in possession of the said explosives. The forensics department also sent a report to confirm that the cables were explosives,” he told the court. The explosives suspects lawyer Mandla Mkhwanazi asked Sihlongonyane why they had arrested the two on April 10, 2011.

Sihlongonyane said they were found with weapons, AK-47 rifles, and when he asked if it was specifically the two accused, Sihlongonyane said it was not them but the people who they were with.
(…)
The two men are accused of contravening Section 9, as read with Section 8(1)(c), of the Explosives Act 4 of 1961. On April 13, 2011, at or near Mbikwakhe in the Manzini region, the said accused, each or both of them, acting in furtherance of a common purpose, did lawfully and intentionally possess the under listed explosives without a valid licence or permit or alternatively contravened Section 14(1) as read with 2(a) of the Arms and Ammunitions Act 24 of 1964.

The case continues today at 9am when other witnesses will be leading evidence.

21. December 2011

Bank details for Maxwell and Musa bail fund

The following bank account has been set up to receive contributions towards the E100,000 bail for Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni, the Swaziland Solidarity Network has announced.

Bank: First National Bank [FNB]

NAME: M. Mkhwanazi & Associates

Account number: 62057572507

Branch Code: 280164

Mbabane-SWAZILAND

SWIFT Code: FIRNSZMX

20. December 2011

Maxwell Dlamini granted bail – at a massive 50 000 Rand

After having been denied bail on several occasions previously since they were detained, allegedly tortured, and charged of possession of explosives in April 2011, Swazi student leader, Maxwell Dlamini and activist Musa Ngubeni have finally been granted bail by Swaziland’s High Court judge Bheki Maphalala today (Tuesday).

Unfortunately for the pair, bail was set at 50 000 Rand (around 6 000 US$) per person – by far the highest bail ever in Swaziland, according to a correspondent from global news agency AFP who was present at the hearing. The judge also demanded that they surrender their passports before being granted bail and wants them to report to the Mbabane police station four times a week.

50 000 Rand is a staggering amount in a country where the government of absolute monarch, King Mswati III, cannot afford to pay its bills and the salaries of its civil servants, where two thirds of the population survive on less than a dollar a day, and where hundreds of thousands can only get by on food aid from the UN.

“The financial figure is very unreasonable,” a representative of the Swaziland United Democratic Front told Africa Contact today. ”This is a very unjust verdict for any court to make with regard to just a bail application. We are very angry and disappointed.”

Dumezweni Dlamini of the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice said that Swaziland’s civil society regarded judge Maphalala as a government lackey. ”The precedent set by the same court when it released people accused of high treason by granting them bail was only set at 5 000 Rand,” he said.

Manyovu Mnisi, lawyer for the suspects, said he was shocked at the judgement. “We find the judgment to be shocking and devoid of legal reasoning. It is strange that an offence which carries a fine of 2 000 Rand and a jail term of just two years could attract such an exorbitant bail and stringiest conditions,” Mnisi said.

There have been repeated calls for the release of Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni, both from the Swazi democratic movement, who have called the charges “a cover up for the heavy-handedness the police” during pro-democracy demonstrations in April, and internationally from the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign and its supporters.

Africa Contact’s Mandela Fund is collecting donations for Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni’s bail. You can donate here: http://www.afrika.dk/st%C3%B8t-mandela-fonden (remember to specify that the donation is for Maxwell and Musa’s bail), or by contacting Africa Contact’s Morten Nielsen at morten@afrika.dk.

Read more about the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign here: http://freemaxwelldlamini.wordpress.com/

—–

SNUS on grant of bail for President Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni

20th December 2011

The Swaziland National Union of Students humbly takes this opportunity to thank all those that have continued to call for the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including SNUS President Maxwell Dlamini who has been in prison since April 12, 2011, together with another former student leader, Musa Ngubeni.

Through your intensive call for their release, President Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni were granted bail by the High Court on Tuesday, 20 December, 2010, in their bail appeal hearing presided over by Justice Bheki Maphalala. However, the bail money has been set at a staggering R50 000 (Fifty thousand Rands) for each leader, taking the total to an outrageous R100 000 (One hundred thousand Rands) that is needed for their release. We therefore plead with all people of the world who love to see justice being done to assist us with the above mentioned monies. Anyone who is willing to assist can contact the SNUS leadership through the office of the Secretary for International Affairs.

Thanking you in advance as we fight for democracy for Swaziland.

Issued by the Swaziland National Union of Students

Contact:
Lomasiko Dlamini
SNUS Secretary for International Affairs
+268 7636 2273

12. December 2011

Police lose student leaders’ docket, cook up another

Swaziland Solidarity Network statement -12th December 2011

The case against student leaders Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni, took a rather bizzare twist earlier in the week as police reportedly lost the trial docket. Sources working close to the case made the startling revelation yesterday afternoon.

When quizzed on what this means to the case, the uniformed state agents responded by saying they would create another one. Under normal circumstances the disappearance of a case docket results in the case being scraped off the roll.

One is left wondering where the state will get information on the case in the abscense of the original docket. Moreover, what credible information can be contained in a thought up docket?

It is clear that the state has no case against the two student leaders. In the interests of justice and sanity, we demand that they be released with immediate effect.

11. December 2011

Maxwell trial to finally begin?

Will the trial of Swazi student leader, Maxwell Dlamini, and his co-accused, Musa Ngubeni, finally be heard in court? The trial has been delayed since Dlamini and Ngubeni were detained in April, in connection with the biggest demonstrations for democracy and socio-economic justice in Swaziland in many years – the so-called “April 12 Uprising.”

They were accused of being in possession of explosives, a charge that people within Swaziland’s democratic movement call preposterous, and allegedly tortured and forced to sign a confession. According to Vincent Ncongwane, Secretary General of the Swaziland Federation of Labour, the arrests and charges are an attempt to “cover up for the heavy-handedness the police applied against innocent citizens” during the April 12 uprising.

“Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni’s trial is at the Manzini magistrate court right now,” the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) reported on their Facebook site on Wednesday. “It began in the morning, but was adjourned for 1400hrs, Swazi time. It appears that no magistrate wants to entertain the case of Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni. It has been reported that Magistrate Florence did not want to entertain it. Reasons for refusal to hear the case have not yet been reported. The case has been postponed to Monday 9am, Manzini Magistrate’s court!”

“The magistrate was supposed to fix Maxwell’s trial date but that did not happen,” Sibusiso Magnificent Nhlabatsi from SNUS tells Africa Contact. “He will appear again on Monday December 12 at the same court for setting of the trial date. On 14 December his lawyer will be appealing his bail refusal at the high Court of Swaziland. We were shocked that he was due to court as we were told that such would be held in chambers. But in the next appearances students will be out in numbers.”

Given the long delay, the refusal to grant bail and the repeated irregularities, it is obvious that King Mswati’s regime are trying to postpone the case for as long as possible, as they did with a similarly political trial against PUDEMO President, Mario Masuku in 2009 – a terrorism trial that, when it finally began after nearly a year, was laughed out of court in less than a day.

“The magistrate’s decision is tainted with irrationality in that it is so outrageous in its defiance of logic or of accepted moral standards that no sensible person who applied his mind to the question to be decided could have arrived at,” Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni’s laywer, Mandla Mkhwanazi, told the Swazi Observer on Friday after the pair were again refused bail and the case was again postponed.

Maxwell Dlamini is getting frustrated, says a source from within the democratic movement who wishes to remain anonymous for reasons of security. “The last time Maxwell was visited he requested that we call upon the setting of his trial dates. He is frustrated at the fact that his languishing in jail and doesn’t even know his trial dates. He also complained that the state doesn’t want him to read any books or newspapers with political stories. He requested that I buy him any books or magazines that are non-political.”

8. December 2011

Maxwell case started?

Messages from the SNUS facebook group – posted yesterday

“Swaziland; Student activists, Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni’s trial is at the Manzini magistrate court right now. It began in the morning, but was adjourned for 1400hrs, Swazi time. It appears that no magistrate wants to entertain the case of Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni. It has been reported that Magistrate Florence did not want to entertain it. Reasons for refusal to hear the case have not yet been reported.”

“SNUS President Maxwell and Musa Ngubeni’s case has been postponed to monday 9am, Manzini magistrate’s court! Please be there to support them.”

7. December 2011

Petitioners from around the world call for the release of Maxwell Dlamini

The Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign has started a petition for the release of Swazi student leader and political prisoner, Maxwell Dlamini. Dlamini was detained and charged with possession of explosives before the April 12 Uprising in Swaziland, was allegedly tortured and forced to sign a confession, and has been awaiting trial ever since.

People from around the world have been eager to sign the petition – Canada, Western Sahara, Colombia, Chile, France, Sri Lanka, Iceland, USA, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Thailand, Philippines, Denmark, India.

Many of petitioners also voiced their opinions about Maxwell’s case and the state of affairs in Swaziland.

“I am signing because it’s time for Swaziland’s government to end political and human oppression and to give the land the chance of voting free democratic parties,” Udo from Germany wrote.

“He has to be released because he is not a criminal,” Percy from Swaziland insisted. “He is rather fighting for the liberation of other students, workers, peasants and the rest of the Swazi populace. The real culprits who should be arrested are the ones who stole public monies and those who charge that people and ordinary Swazis who are upright like Maxwell are arrested.”

“He is innocent and all reproaches to him are lies. As a democrat and someone who concerned Human Rights I condemn the situation in Swaziland, especially the situation of Maxwell. I demand the immediately release of Maxwell,” writes Malte, from Germany.

“If there is credible evidence against Mr Dlamini charge him and allow him his day in court and allow him the right to defend himself,” wrote Graham from South Africa. “Detention without trial is a human rights abuse. The rule of law needs to be re-instated in Swaziland.”

“As a South African I fully identify with the people of Swaziland in their fight against the tyranny of the dictator king and his oppressive machinery,” Deon from South Africa wrote.

Swaziland is an absolute monarchy where two thirds of the population survive on less than a dollar a day whilst the king and his allies continue to spend lavishly on luxury items, prestige projects and on arms and army training to defend their privileges.

3. December 2011

Sign Free Maxwell petition

As well as sending the Free Maxwell campaign’s letter to the Swazi regime, you can now also sign the online petition to Free Maxwell at change.org.

28. November 2011

SNUS statement on Maxwell Dlamini’s Birthday

This is a very important day in the lives of the students for, it is the birthday of our commander, comrade Maxwell Dlamini. He has been behind bars for seven months now and we do not take kindly to that as the Swaziland National Union of Students [SNUS]. As such we call for his release.

Today, however, we are celebrating the birthday of this young lion.

His nominations for the World Student Peace Price by Africa Contact and the Honorary Presidency by the British students thereof, perhaps tell everything that needs to be told about the esteem in which we as students hold him.

Maxwell’s activism and leadership in SNUS, his refusal to betray his people, his movements and his principles in the face of state repression, including the  seven months incarceration and his determination to always stand up even to the wrath of our people, to affirm everything that is just and humane, communicate precisely the massage, and serve as a concrete proof of the reality that freedom is possible in our lifetime.

For his willingness to make the necessary sacrifices for the Swazi people, for what he has taught us about the need for selfless dedication to the uplifting of  the masses and for what his life has reaffirmed, that freedom is imminent, we say happy birthday comrade President Maxwell.

As we say happy birthday we commit ourselves to give meaning to this message of goodwill and hope. We must also answer in a practical way and through everything we do, the critically important question; what will we do to build on the momentum for the struggle?

We commit ourselves always to strive to advance the goals and ideas to which he has dedicated his life-the idea of a democratic and free Swaziland.

Happy birthday nkokheli!

Issued by the Swaziland National Union of Students [SNUS]*

Mlungisi Khumalo
SNUS Vice President

19. November 2011

Free Maxwell campaign kit

ACTSA and NUS have released a campaign kit to help free Maxwell which includes a model motion which you can adapt and submit to your union council or general meeting, a model letter so you can write to the Swazi government and media to let them know about your action. We’ve also included information about Maxwell’s case and about the situation in Swaziland. You can download the campaign kit by clicking here.

17. November 2011

Swazi student leader nominated for student peace prize

From The Guardian

Swaziland’s jailed NUS leader, Maxwell Dlamini, has been nominated for the 2013 Student Peace Prize for his campaign work in the troubled African monarchy.

Dlamini has been held in the notorious Manzini remand centre since April when he was arrested the night before a planned student protest and charged with possession of illegal ammunition. He denies the charges. As NUS president he campaigned against increased tuition fees, and cuts to scholarship programmes. He had lambasted the government for its failure to introduce the free primary school education it promised.

His supporters claim that evidence was planted and his confession was forced. Dlamini’s bail hearing was cancelled several times between April and June. In July the country’s lawyers went on a four month strike after a judge was charged with insulting the king.

The UK NUS is amongst those campaigning for Dlamini’s release. Dannie Grufferty, vice president of the UK NUS told Cribsheet:

“This nomination is a welcome recognition of Maxwell’s fearless work in Swaziland, where students and trade unionists are systematically oppressed and reproached for their beliefs and affiliations. Maxwell has been threatened, beaten, tortured and is now imprisoned as a result of his brave struggle to defend democracy and human rights. I have seen the work he has done first hand and it truly is an inspiration.”

She went on to say:

“Nominations and awards are important, but they must not be allowed to obscure the urgent need for action by the British Government, the Commonwealth and the European Commission to publicly condemn the lack of democracy in Swaziland, and commit to not hosting royal visits until basic democratic measures are implemented. We owe it to Maxwell not only to recognise his past work but also to support his struggle to defend human rights in Swaziland.”

The Student Peace Prize is awarded on behalf of students in Norway. Previous winners have come from Burma, East Timor, Zimbabwe, Colombia and Western Sahara. Winners are celebrated with a Walk of Peace during the International Student Festival in Trondheim.

14. November 2011

Maxwell Dlamini nominated for student peace prize

Maxwell Dlamini, President of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), has been nominated for the 2013 Student Peace Prize, an award given every other year on behalf of Norwegian students to fellow students around the world who have “done important work to promote peace, democracy or human rights.”

The Student Peace Prize attempts to shed light on and increase recognition of the work of the students who are given the award. “Where other peace prizes that go to established personalities light up a lit room,” the website of the Student Peace Prize states,  “the Student Peace Prize puts a spotlight on young persons that still work in the dark.”

Maxwell Dlamini has been nominated by Danish solidarity organisation Africa Contact, his nomination being further endorsed by the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign, the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF), the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), the All Africa Students Union (AASU), the student representative body at the University of Marburg and the Free Education Movement Marburg.

The reason given for Maxwell’s nomination, according to the letter Africa Contact sent to the Student Peace Prize Secretariat in Norway, was that he had “done important work to promote peace, democracy or human rights,” because his “struggle for free education, recognition of students’ rights, democracy and human rights in Swaziland does not receive the attention and recognition that it ought to,” and “because he has selflessly put aside any fear for his own safety in his and his fellow students’ struggle.”

The letter pointed specifically to the impact of Maxwell Dlamini and SNUS on the February 2010 student boycott and demonstrations in demand of free education in Swaziland, and on the April 12 Uprising in 2011 – one of the largest ever protests for democracy and socio-economic justice in Swaziland’s history. Swaziland is a corrupt and undemocratic absolute monarchy on the verge of economical collapse.

Additionally, the nomination recognised Maxwell’s bravery in the face of the Swazi regime’s brutal clamp down on all opposition to its rule. “Maxwell has been detained, threatened, beaten and tortured on several occasions by members of Swaziland’s police and security forces,” the letter said.

“He is presently languishing in prison, after having been detained, tortured, and forced to sign a confession to being in possession of explosives prior to the so-called April 12 Swazi Uprising.”  Several prominent members of Swaziland’s democratic movement have referred to these allegations as “ridiculous”.

The winner of the 2013 Student Peace Prize will be announced in the autumn of 2013, the selection being administered by a committee of Norwegian students’ representatives and a group of experts, including two members of the Norwegian parliament, a journalist employed at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, NRK, and a former chairwoman of the Norwegian national film institute. The prize has previously been awarded to students and student organizations from Burma, East Timor, Zimbabwe, Colombia and Western Sahara.

6. November 2011

Maxwell Dlamini: don’t mourn over me

“It is very unfortunate that a brave young comrade like Maxwell Dlamini [President of the Swaziland National Union of Students] can be made to stay in prison while we need him outside to pursue the struggle of the Swazi people,” Sibusiso Nhlabatsi, President of the Students Representative Council at the University of Swaziland, tells Africa Contact. “But we remain motivated by his words: do not mourn and whine over me just pursue the course of democracy in Swaziland.”

Maxwell Dlamini was detained, and allegedly tortured, prior to the so-called April 12-Uprising in Swaziland earlier in the year. He was forced to sign a statement admitting possession of explosives and has been denied bail on several occasions. He subsequently stands accused of contravening Sections 8 and 9 of Swaziland’s Explosives Act 4 of 1961 – an accusation that several members of Swaziland’s democratic movement, as well as unions and solidarity organisations around the world, have described as preposterous.

Despite reports of Maxwell falling ill and hired South African police illegally interrogating him and his fellow accused, Musa Ngubeni, Maxwell is doing fine. “Maxwell in prison is fine,” Nhlabatsi says. “Those who check him from time to time say that his spirit is strong and he remains committed to his course.”

Talking about the prospects of Maxwell’s case being heard in a court of law, Nhlabatsi is less optimistic – both because of the well-known stalling tactics of the Swazi regime towards imprisoned democracy advocates, and because of an ongoing lawyer boycott against the lack of judicial independence and rule of law in the country.

“About his case it’s very disturbing. In Swaziland lawyers are currently on boycott and courts are grounded. Actually this situation has been going on for the past three months. So he can’t stand trial because there is no lawyer available.”

 15. October 2011

Letter to SA minister: Ensure Maxwell’s release and dismantling of Tinkundla

To: Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Jeffrey Radebe

Dear Sir,

The matter to which I wish to inquire into is the illegal interrogation, and according to COSATUs website, the additional torture, of Swazi student leader Maxwell Dlamini and Swazi activist Musa Ngubeni by two South African police officials on Friday the 30th of September 2011. This interrogation has been confirmed by several sources.

Firstly, I would like your comment on this allegation, and if you can confirm it and/or know about it, your response to what you intend to do about the actions of your officials. Secondly, and more generally, I would like to enquire into what you and the South African government intend to do about the case of Maxwell Dlamini specifically.

Maxwell Dlamini, a young Swazi student leader, was detained, tortured, and forced by the Swazi regime to sign a confession that says he was in possession of explosives by Swazi police during the April 12 Swazi Uprising – five days of protest that were inspired by similar uprisings in North Africa and The Middle East but brutally clamped down upon by Swazi police and security forces. This is by no means the first – nor the last – time Maxwell, and other members of the Swazi democratic movement have received such treatment by officials of the Swazi regime.

Maxwell’s case has still not been heard in a court of law and there are suspicions that the state might be trying to stall his case to punish him, as was seemingly the case with PUDEMO President Mario Masuku, who was held in prison for a year, only for his case to be virtually laughed out of court and dismissed within a day.

I write to you personally, not only because you are the responsible minister in regard to the offending police officers, but also because your involvement as a student activist in the Soweto Uprising and your imprisonment on Robben Island enables you to draw on personal experiences that are not unlike those of Maxwell Dlamini.

Youth leaders such as the young Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, Tsietsi Mashinini, and the ringleaders of the Arab Spring have shown that youths have an important role to play in any liberation or democratic movement. This is one of the reasons why the Swazi democratic movement needs brave, dynamic and astute leaders such as Maxwell Dlamini – who incidentally named Steve Biko as a major inspiration when he visited us at Africa Contact in Denmark last November.

The persistence of the ANC, Soweto 1976, a united democratic front of civil society and other organisations, and international pressure led to the forced dismantling of apartheid. We at the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign hope that Swaziland’s influential neighbour, South Africa, will play its part in ensuring that the undemocratic and discriminatory regime that is Swaziland will meet with the same fate.

Sincerely,

Peter Kenworthy, Campaign Coordinator of the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign, activist and former employee at Africa Contact (formerly the Danish Anti-Apartheid Movement)

8. October 2011

New Maxwell Facebook site

The “Student Hero: Maxwell” Facebook site is now online. The site is part of a series of SAIH‘s “Student Hero” campaign. SAIH is the solidarity organisation of students and academics in Norway

3. October 2011

Student leaders brutally tortured by SA cops

SSN [Swaziland Solidarity Network] calls for an urgent investigation, by South Africa’s Police Service, of certain individuals who tortured and victimised the awaiting trial student leaders, Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni, on Friday evening (30 September 2011).

The SSN has reliably learnt, with shock and disgust, that South African Police coming from the Crime Intelligence Department went to Swaziland and heavily tortured the two student leaders in the absence of their lawyers. This happened inside the Zakhele remand prison in Manzini Swaziland, where the two are presently incarcerated awaiting trial after they were accused of being in possession of explosives [...] (Read whole SSN media release here).

2. October 2011

Maxwell Dlamini interrogated by South African police

In a strange twist to the case of student leader Maxwell Dlamini and political activist Musa Ngubeni, both awaiting trial for allegedly being in possession of explosives in connection with the democratic uprising in Swaziland in April, they were interrogated by what appeared to be hired South African police investigators.

The two had previously been detained, interrogated and allegedly tortured by Swazi police to confess to charges that the Swazi democratic movement call ludicrous.

“On Friday at about 4 pm, two white police investigators, said to have been hired by the Swazi state from South Africa, went to the Manzini Remand Centre where Maxwell and Musa are held. These investigators were not accompanied by the two’s lawyers or granted any permission by them to interrogate their clients,” says Dumezweni Dlamini from the Swazi NGO Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice.

According to Dumezweni Dlamini, the interrogators were seemingly attempting to assess their connection with the bombing of a royal palace three years ago, with the South African left who support democratisation in Swaziland and with two of Swaziland’s banned political parties.

“The investigators played video clips from the late Musa Dlamini and Jack Govender who died while they were allegedly attempting to blow up a bridge next to Lozitha Royal Palace,” Dumezweni Dlamini says. “They also forced them to say that they knew the arrested Amos Mbedzi, who was allegedly also part of the Lozitha Bombers. They also questioned them of their knowledge of [South African Trade Federation] COSATU, the South African Communist Party, PUDEMO and SWAYOCO.”

According to Dumezweni Dlamini, the interrogations took about an hour each and ended with the police telling the two prisoners that they would  “put them on a leash in protecting the status quo in Swaziland against such terrorism acts.”

Swaziland, an absolute monarchy where political parties are banned and where two thirds of the population survive on under a dollar a day, has good relations with South African President Jacob Zuma, who is married to one of Swaziland’s King Mswati III’s nieces. The ANC also have investments in Swaziland, including an anthracite mine that the ANC’s investment vehicle, Chancellor House Holdings, owns 75% of.

South Africa has recently promised Mswati III a substantial loan of over $300 million to help stave off an economic and political meltdown in virtually bankrupt Swaziland. Swaziland had been refused loans from the IMF and the African Development Bank earlier this year, and there are rumours that South Africa is considering retracting the loan due to the persistent unwillingness of Mswati III to implement democratic reform.

1. October 2011

Swazi student leader tortured, framed

Press release from the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign

Students and other young people are at the forefront of the democratic uprisings of 2011 around the world. They have been the main instigators of demanding democracy in North Africa. This has been covered extensively in the media.

What has been less focused upon is the simultaneous uprising in Swaziland – an absolute monarchy where all political parties are banned, where life expectancy is under 40 years, where youth unemployment is sky-high, and where two thirds of the population survive on less than a dollar a day – many on food aid from the UN.

The unions and the Swazi students’ union, SNUS, have been at the forefront of the Swazi uprising, which is why Swazi police have clamped down on them in particular. Swazi Student leader and SNUS president, Maxwell Dlamini, was pre-emptively detained and allegedly tortured by Swazi police before the Arab Spring-inspired April 12 uprising in Swaziland, where the Swazi regime violently clamped down on demonstrators and detained the entire leadership of the Swazi democratic movement.

Maxwell Dlamini was forced to sign a statement admitting possession of explosives and denied bail on several occasions. Maxwell was also initially denied the right to sit his exams at the university of Swaziland where he is a student, and the Swazi authorities have done their utmost to obstruct their lawyer, Mandla Mkhwanazi.

The charges against Maxwell Dlamini of being in possession of explosives, and thus contravening Sections 8 and 9 of Swaziland’s Explosives Act 4 of 1961, have been described as preposterous by several members of the democratic movement in Swaziland, as well as by unions and solidarity organisations around the world, and Amnesty International has urged Swaziland to ensure his safety.

Danish solidarity organisation, Africa Contact, therefore started the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign to focus on Maxwell’s case and pressurize the Swazi regime into releasing his.

The Free Maxwell Campaign

In the campaign’s first 24 hours, nearly a hundred e-mails were sent to the Swazi regime demanding the release of Maxwell, over 500 people accessed the campaign’s website, and people from all over the world – including Swazi, Danish, English, South African, Namibian and Basque NGO’s; Danish, German, English, Ukranian and Norweigan students; and people from all over the world have wished to publicly support the campaign.

The press has also covered the campaign, which has been in the news in e.g. England (The Guardian), Denmark (Arbejderen and U-landsnyt), Norway (SAIH), and in The Times of Swaziland, who ran an article about the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign in its Swazi News Saturday edition.

The South African Broadcast Cooperation, SABC, also ran a documentary, Swaziland’s Political Prisoners that amongst other things included interviews in prison with Maxwell Dlamini filmed with a hidden camera.

Keeping spirits high despite delayed trial

Despite languishing in prison for nearly six months, Maxwell Dlamini is keeping up his sprits and is pleased that the Free Maxwell Campaign, the British National Union of Students and others are campaigning for his release. “It was good for Maxwell to see for himself that there is something of this sort going on in Europe,” Dumezweni Dlamini of the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice, of which Maxwell’s organisation SNUS is a party, who visited Maxwell recently, told me.

But the Swazi regime has not responded to the campaign, and is instead apparently seeking to bleed Maxwell and his lawyers dry, given the long delay of the court case. The long delay of the case is proving a financial problem for the two accused as well as their legal team, who are working pro bono. And there is also the obvious inconvenience of being imprisoned in a system that often tortures and manhandles its detainees and political prisoners, as happened to Maxwell Dlamini in order to force him to sign a prepared confession.

“The case is still at stand still with the lawyers still trying to get a trial date,” Dumezweni Dlamini says about Maxwell Dlamini’s case. “The case is taking quite some time for his lawyers such that it limits and also digs many resources from their commercial business. We only rely on the volunteerism of these attorneys.”

Other trials against members of Swaziland’s democratic movement certainly seem to show that the regime speculates in such stalling tactics, the most well-known case being that against illegal opposition party, PUDEMO’s, President Mario Masuku.

Masuku was imprisoned for nearly a year before his case was finally heard in 2009. There was no evidence whatsoever to substantiate the accusations of terrorism against him, even though terrorism is defined very loosely in Swaziland, and the judge released him the same day.

Let us hope, for the sake of Maxwell, as well as for the precedent of the many other young student leaders around the world who have partaken in democratic uprisings, that he will not have to stay imprisoned much longer. And let us all do our utmost to secure his release.

If you wish to help Maxwell, by supporting the campaign by writing to the Swazi regime to demand his release, you can either contact the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign at: freemaxwelldlamini@gmail.com

Read more or act at: http://freemaxwelldlamini.wordpress.com/

Or at: https://www.facebook.com/free.maxwell

25. September 2011

Danish student magazine: Maxwell has been tortured and framed

The September edition of Roskilde University’s student magazine, HippoCampus (page 18-19), has a story about Maxwell Dlamini entitled “Student leader still imprisoned.”

Hippocampus says that Maxwell Dlamini, whom the magazine interviewed during his visit to Denmark in November 2010, “has probably been tortured,” that the explosives that he is claimed to have been in possession of “were probably planted by the police,” and that Swaziland is notorious for its delaying tactics in trials against political prisoners.

9. September 2011

An Unlikely Freedom Fighter

Below is a press release from the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign in support of the ongoing protests against Swaziland’s absolute monarchy:

The Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign commends and supports the thousands of Swazis who have taken to the streets this week during the Global Week of Action to demand Multi-party democracy and socio-economic justice, as well as all of the Swazis who have stayed at home, fearing yet another violent response by the regime’s police forces.

And we reiterate our demand for the unconditional release of Maxwell Dlamini and all other political prisoners in Swaziland, as the protesters have done in numerous speeches during the past two days.

“The Free Maxwell campaign is flagged almost by every speaker,” says Dumezweni Dlamini of the Swazi NGO, Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice.

Between one and two thousand people took to the streets yesterday, and between five hundred and a thousand on Monday, to demand democratisation and social reform in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, Swaziland, and the release of all political prisoners.

—–

Swaziland’s consul in Denmark quits over Swazi government corruption

According to Africa Contact’s Morten Nielsen, Swaziland’s consul in Denmark, Flemming Jørgensen, has quit his position. According to Nielsen, because of the rampant corruption in Swaziland’s government.

Africa Contact, who were due to hold a protest outside the consul’s house in Copenhagan on Friday, had also previously campaigned to pressure the consul to resign his position over Swaziland’s abysmal human rights record and its political prisoners, although it is not known whether this campaign has had any bearing on Flemming Jørgensen’s decision to resign his post.

6. September 2011

Free Maxwell Campaign part of protests in Swaziland

“The Free Maxwell campaign is flagged almost by every speaker,” says Dumezweni Dlamini of the Swazi NGO, Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice.

He is talking about the speeches given at the protests at the Global Week of Action in Swaziland’s two main cities, Mbabane and Manzini, during the past two days.

Between one and two thousand people took to the streets yesterday, and between five hundred and a thousand on Monday, to demand democratisation and social reform in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, Swaziland, and the release of all political prisoners.

—–

5th September: Global Action Day for the Release of Maxwell Dlamini in Berlin

Statement from the students in Berlin:

In Berlin 20 students protested in front of the Honorary Consulate of Swaziland for the release of Maxwell Dlamini and all political prisoners. At the same time protesters met in Düsseldorf with the same demands.

Maxwell, president of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS), was imprisoned in April because of his political activity. He worked to achieve free education and thus was part of the democracy movement in Swaziland.

The students in Berlin demanded the immediate release of Maxwell and political prisoners who were imprisoned in Swaziland.

Since the Honorary Consule Dr. Volker Stoltz was not present, the international supporters list of the „Free Maxwell“ campaigne could only be deposited in his mailbox. Apart from the demands to free Maxwell the speakers reminded of the oppression of women and neglection of human rights in Swaziland, one of the last absolute monarchies in Africa.

4. September 2011

Message of solidarity from Africa Contact to the Global week of Action activists, Maxwell Dlamini, and all other political prisoners in Swaziland

Dear comrades

Africa Contact in Denmark sends its warm greetings of solidarity to the participants of the Global Week of Action.

Swaziland is at a crossroads. The total collapse of the current regime is obvious to all. Swaziland’s economic crisis is the responsibility of the regime itself. Corruption and a life lived in luxury for a small elite will now be paid for by Swaziland’s students, workers, small farmers, HIV-infected people, pensioners and the poor.

It is therefore good to see how broad a section of the population, the struggle for democracy in Swaziland now entails, and how the population at large is increasingly willing to stand up and demand democracy and socio-economic justice.

Here in Denmark, the Global Week of Action will be marked by several activities. At the two main universities in Denmark, the students will assemble to demand that student leader Maxwell Dlamini is released and that a unity government be established to pave the way for democratic elections and a new democratic constitution.

We at Africa Contact, for our part, also demand a free and democratic Swaziland – and we can see that this goal is now within reach. We also demand that an interim government be formed where everyone is represented. This constitution will pave the way for a new democratic constitution, with equal political rights for all, and must therefore be designed to secure the social and economic rights of all Swazi’s, and do away with nepotism and corruption.

Finally, we demand the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners, and the prosecution of those responsible for abuse and torture of democracy campaigners in Swaziland.

Viva, the struggling people of Swaziland. Viva.

Afrika Kontakt
Denmark

—–

Message of Solidarity from Marburg to the Democracy activists in Swaziland

See the message on YouTube

2. September 2011

Free Maxwell petition in Berlin

“There will be a protest in front of the Generalkonsulat in Berlin,” states The Representative Students’ Body of the Technical University Berlin. “It’s going to be on the 5th of September at 4 p.m., in which we will hear a few speeches, make some noise and hand over the petition.

The adress is: Große Präsidentenstraße 5, 10178 Berlin.”

—–

Free Maxwell petition in Denmark

The Petition

We encourage every student in Denmark and others who share our demand that Maxwell Dlamini should be set free to sign this petition. The signatures will be given to the Consulate of Swaziland, Copenhagen Denmark. The petition will run until September 5th 11 pm.

Also everyone is welcome to our solidarity event at Aarhus University September 5th, 7 pm (https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=275795255780201&ref=ts)

- Background -

In Denmark students don’t fear police, politicians or others when engaging in student politics. That’s not the case everywhere in the world. One grim example of this is Maxwell Dlamini’s history. Maxwell is a young man living in Swaziland. He was detained on April 12th on false accusations that he was in possession of explosives, yet it is clear that his detention arose from his active involvement in fighting for student rights against a scholarship policy that the Swazi government drafted independently without the input of students whose futures are at stake.

- About the Global Day
of action To Free Maxwell - 

We (International Student Movement – Africa) call on all progressive  organizations, youths and concerned people around the world to march to Swaziland embassies/consulates on September 5th 2011 in their region to add their voices to demand the immediate release of Maxwell Dlamini and all political prisoners. Read more here:
(http://ism-global.net/global_action_day_sept5)

- Initiators –

The National Union of Students in Denmark (www.dsfnet.dk

The Student Council at Aarhus University (www.sr.au.dk)

1. September 2011

ACTSA will petition Swazi High Commission on London for release of Maxwell and Musa

Action for Southern Africa (ACTSA) will be marking the Swaziland International Day of Action with a vigil outside the Swaziland High Commission, 20 Buckingham Gate, London, on 6 September 2011 (12.30 – 13.30), calling for democracy and rights for Swaziland. It will be presenting cards calling for the release from prison of Maxwell Dlamini, of the Swaziland National Union of Students (SNUS) and Musa Ngebuni of the Swaziland Youth Congress (Swayoco).

31. August 2011

Global Day of Action to Free Maxwell and All Political Prisoners, Sept. 5th 2011

Various groups in Germany (and probably elsewhere as well) want to send out press releases on September 5th to support the “Global Day of Action to Free Maxwell Dlamini and All Political Prisoners”.
They also want to include the different actions worldwide as part of the global day of action inside the press releases.

Announce your actions inside the forum by leaving a comment or send an e-mail to ism.africa@gmail.com as soon as possible!

So far the following actions linked to the day of action were announced:

• Solidarity Action at Aarhus University in Denmark: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=275795255780201

• Massive marches in Swaziland itself (called by the Swaziland United Democratic Front[SUDF]): https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=248072038566637 + National Congress for Democratic Change (NACODC) Youth Assembly will march in Mbabane, Manzini and Siteki. encourages activist to wear Red or a Red ribbon

• Massive march in South Africa (called by the Congress of South African Trade Unions [COSATU])
  -> the Swaziland Solidarity Network (SSN) mobilises for rallies in front of the Swazi embassy and consulate in Pretoria and Johannesburg (both in South Africa)

• Solidarity actions at the consulates of Swaziland in Düsseldorf und Berlin (both in Germany) – a solidarity statement supported by groups across Germany will be delivered
  -> activists are also working to launch a global petition in solidarity with the democracy movement in Swaziland on Sept.5th
  -> in Marburg activists will also drop a banner and consider to record a video message (probably ahead of Sept. 5th)

• STUDIM KRITIKE VEPRIM – STUDY CRITICS ACTION is going to publish a press release in solidarity. It is a group at the University of Prishtina – the only public university in Kosovo with over 50,000 students

26. August 2011

International representatives denied access to Maxwell Dlamini and other Swazi political prisoners

Press Release 26 August : Issued by the Swaziland Democracy Campaign

International Representatives Denied Visits to Swazi Detainess, Treated Like Criminals and Spied Upon! Students Attacked Again!

Yesterday, a 21 strong representative group drawn from the Development Community, Human and Civil Rights Organisations, and Peace and Democracy Campaigners were denied the right to visit political detainees and prisoners being held by the Swazi regime.

The regional delegation comprising representatives from Swaziland, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Mozambique and from respected organisations such as the ACTIONS Support Centre, PROPAZ, Forum Mulher, SCCCO, Soweto Concerned Residence, Swaziland Democracy Campaign, Swaziland United Democratic Front, YIDEZ, and the Zimbabwe Peace Project numbers 21 representatives.

They had intended to visit Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni in Manzini Remand Centre, both of whom are student leaders who are being illegally held by the Swazi regime for participating in peaceful protests for a democratic Swaziland earlier this year. They were also denied access to Amos Mbedzi, Bheki Dlamini and Zonke Dlamini who are imprisoned in the Sidwashini Maximum Prison after being convicted on very dubious grounds using draconian legislation that has been universally condemned.

The Visiting Delegation wanted to talk to those being held to make an assessment of the conditions they are enduring, and also to reassure them that they were not forgotten and that the campaign for their release is gathering momentum.

Authorities Renege on Agreement

Despite having secured prior permission, and made their intentions completely clear, the authorities reneged on the agreement to allow the visit and instead subjected the visiting group to delay, illegal surveilance and unreasonable treatment.

Despite the presence of legal representatives of those detained, the authorities refused to provide reasons for denying access, however it was possible, despite the obstructive behaviour of the authorities to gather important information.

While the Government denies that those being held are political prisoners, it does not afford them the same rights, access to visitors and other facilities as it does for ordinary prisoners. For example, they have restricted the number of people allowed on to their registered visitors list from seven to five. Each registered visitor is allowed to have only 3 minutes for conversation which is closely monitorred by a police officer. This means that the prisoners have very little time for outside contact compared to ordinary prisoners who are also not monitorred. Visits to the prison shop are also denied them, and more worrying, they are kept in isolation and not allowed to communicate with one another.

This treatment is not only inhuman and against acceptable prison norms, it is cruel and completely unecessary. It is clear that the intention is to break the spirit of those imprisoned. If these comrades are not political prisoners, why are they not given the same treatment as other prisoners?

An indication of the inhumanity the political prisoners have to experience is illustrated by the treatment received by Musa Ngubeni who is suffering from very high blood pressure. Instead of being given access to a doctor, a prison nurse instead administers panado.

13. August 2011

Global Day of Action to Free Maxwell and All Political Prisoners, September 5th 2011.

This call was initiated by activists on the International Student Movement – Africa (ISM-Africa) platform.
We call upon all students, student bodies, human rights groups and all concerned organisations and individuals to lobby for the urgent and unconditional release of Maxwell Dlamini (President of the Swaziland National Union of Students) and all political prisoners.

This Global Day of Action calls for the unconditional release of all political prisoners in Swaziland and around the world, as well as for concerted action to prevent more activists being detained as the struggle for democracy and freedom continues.
The government denies that it has political prisoners. It also denies that there are political exiles living abroad. It lies continuously and blantantly in an effort to appear reasonable and fair. At the same time the government presides while constantly oppressing the Swazi people through enforced poverty and degradation as well as the denial of democratic, social and economic rights. Those who campaign against this vile injustice are persecuted by the state.

We call on all progressive organisations, youths and concerned people around the world to march to Swaziland embassies/consulates on September 5th 2011 in their region to add their voices to demand the immediate release of Maxwell Dlamini and all political prisoners. Of course alternative forms of action are also welcome, if you have no embassy/consulate of Swaziland near you.
This must be a first step towards unbanning progressive political movements in Swaziland and around the world. This Global Day of Action also pushes for the protected right of the people to free assembly and guarantee a safe return for exiles.

Turning Global Solidarity into Reality!

Please use ism.africa@gmail.com to announce your actions in advance and send in your reports with pictures/videos afterwards. This is important, so that your activities can also be included in press releases and people worldwide will get to hear about them.

Hashtag on twitter: #freeMaxwell

Read the whole statement here.

9. August 2011

Maxwell’s case “stalled”, lawyers “move for release”

“Maxwell’s case has stalled,” says Sikelela Dlamini from the Swaziland United Democratic Front, who has visited Maxwell Dlamini several times in prison, but who is now barred from doing so because of visitation restrictions imposed following the secret filming of Maxwell and Musa inside the jail. “We still await the state’s next move. The last I heard was that given ongoing boycott by lawyers, the defence was poised to move for release since bail was denied and there’s been no progress since.”

Global Day of Action to Free Maxwell and all political prisoners?

Activists on the International Student Movement (Africa) platform are currently discussing the idea of call ing for a Global Day of Action to Free Maxwell and All Political Prisoners for Septermber 5th!
More details to be announced.

8. August 2011

The Break Chains – Campaign for the Release of All Political Prisoners and Detainees in Swaziland

In a statement yesterday, the Communist Party of Swaziland calls for the release of all political prisoners Swaziland, amongst them Maxwell Dlamini.

“The Tinkhundla regime of king Mswati III currently holds five political prisoners/detainees. These courageous freedom fighters are imprisoned by the regime simply because they have been part of the struggle for democracy, human rights and social and economic progress for the people of Swaziland. We demand their unconditional release and that this is a step toward the unbanning of all political parties and organisations and safe return of all exiles.

We urge you to:

• Send demands to the Swazi government and the king calling for the immediate release of Amos Mbedze, Bheki Dlamini, Zonke Dlamini, Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni;
• Raise awareness on the issue of Swaziland’s political prisoners by spreading news of the campaign for their release;
• Raise the issue in your community, trade union branch, Church group, and among your neighbours and friends.

If you are outside Swaziland:

• Issue calls to Swazi diplomatic missions for the release of political prisoners;
• Demand the boycott of Swaziland by the government of the country in which you reside until all political prisoners are released;
• Get your organisation / political party to join the campaign”

For more information contact:

Goodwill DuPont
Deputy Chairperson & Head of Campaigns CPS
Email: goodwilldpnt@gmail.com
Mobile: 079 472 4508

5. August

Danish newspaper: Maxwell Dlamini risks being tortured in Swazi prison

Danish newspaper, Arbejderen (The Worker), today ran an article that stated that Maxwell Dlamini “risked being beaten and tortured during his long imprisonment … Torture is more or less common in Swazi prisons and police stations,” the paper continued, “not least against political prisoners.”

4. August 2011

Will Maxwell be able to continue his studies?

“It remains uncertain whether the Swaziland National Unions of Students (SNUS) President Maxwell Dlamini will be able to continue with his studies at the University of Swaziland (UNISWA) this academic year,” according to The Swazi Observer today. “He wrote his examinations while he was in custody, but managed to pass … He is supposed to transfer into the fourth year of his Bachelor of Commerce … Third year commerce students are supposed to re-new their scholarship agreements with government. However, Dlamini could not do this due to the situation he is in.”

28. July 2011

Country Analysis: Swaziland, July 2011 (page 9-12), Peace and Security Council, Institute for Security Studies – Swaziland

“Two prominent youth leaders, charged with possession of explosives, remain in police custody and reports of arbitrary police raids, extra-judicial killings, presumably under orders of the King who serves as their commander-in-chief, are on the increase. The detention of protestors, in particular the President of the Swaziland National Union of Students, Maxwell Dlamini, has been utilized as an international campaign tool for highlighting the markings of an autocratic state. The pro-democracy movement’s main base of solidarity, the Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU), which also staged a parallel protest at the Swaziland-South Africa border post, has recently committed itself  to ‘bringing the pro-democracy campaign to a climax [in 2011]’. To this end, COSATU has threatened to lead a border blockade between  Swaziland and South Africa in coming months; mobilise its international allies around the call for a comprehensive boycott of Swazi goods; and put the ‘Swazi matter’ on relevant global multilateral agendas, to enforce action.”

27. July 2011

Swazi regime stalls student leader’s court case

By Peter Kenworthy, from Stiff Kitten’s blog 

Is the Swazi government, ruled by absolute monarch Mswati III, trying to bleed student leader Maxwell Dlamini and his lawyers dry financially in the court case against him? Given the long delay of the court case, where he and fellow accused Musa Ngubeni are accused of being in possession of explosives during the North African-inspired Swazi uprising in April, this seems to be the case.

No matter what the reasons for the delay in Maxwell’s and Musa’s case, it is proving a financial problem for the two accused as well as their legal team, however, who are working pro bono. And there is also the obvious inconvenience of being imprisoned in a system that often tortures and manhandles its detainees and political prisoners, as happened to Maxwell Dlamini before the present court in order to force him to sign a prepared confession.

“The case is still at stand still with the lawyers still trying to get a trial date,” Dumezweni Dlamini of the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice, of which Maxwell’s organisation SNUS is a party, says about Maxwell Dlamini’s case. “The case is taking quite some time for his lawyers such that it limits and also digs many resources from their commercial business. We only rely on the volunteerism of these attorneys.”

Other trials against members of Swaziland’s democratic movement certainly seem to show that the regime speculates in such stalling tactics, the most well-known case being that against illegal opposition party, PUDEMO’s, President Mario Masuku.

Masuku was imprisoned for nearly a year before his case was finally heard in 2009. There was no evidence whatsoever to substantiate the accusations of terrorism against him, even though terrorism is defined very loosely in Swaziland, and the judge released him the same day.

26. July 2011

Court case stretches resources of volunteer lawyers

“The case is still at stand still with the lawyers still trying to get a trial date,” Dumezweni Dlamini of the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice, of which SNUS is a party, says about Maxwell Dlamini’s case. ”The case is taking quite some time for his lawyers such that it limits and also digs many resources from their commercial business. We only rely on the volunteerism of this attorneys.”

18.July 2011

‘Maxwell is fine now’ says democratic movement

“Maxwell is okay now. There was a article which was released by The Times [of Swaziland] which was speaking about that issue. The government quickly availed a doctor and Max was treated. He is fine now and he has also received good news that he has also pass his exams by a credit even though he wrote it under incaration. SNUS today is ending a two day students summit where a message from Maxwell,” said a representative of the Swazi democratic movement.

Zimbabwean youth support Free Maxwell campaign

The Youth Assembly of the Zimbabwean organizations National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) demands that the imprisoned youth activist from Swaziland, Maxwell Dlamini, be released from prison now.

In a declaration published on the 14th of July they state that,

“We take this opportunity to demand the immediate release of jailed student leader Maxwell Dlamini, who was arrested by the dictatorial monarchy of King Mswati on the 12th of April this year. We hereby denounce the iron-rule style of Mswati and call upon the people of Swaziland to remain resolute and united and fight until Mswati is toppled.”

8. July 2011

Swazi political prisoner Maxwell Dlamini suffers stroke, denied treatment

By Peter Kenworthy

Student leader and Swazi political prisoner Maxwell Dlamini has suffered what his family described as a possible mild stroke yesterday but was apparently denied proper treatment.

“Maxwell asked for permission to seek medical assistance for the condition he is in now. He said he felt pain in his left shoulder, after which he could not use the lower part of his left arm. He wants to get medical help outside prison because he does not believe he will receive proper medical attention there. We want to take him to a private doctor to ensure that our son gets satisfactory medical attention. We will speak to our lawyer to see how we can do that,” Maxwell’s father, Nimrod Dlamini, told The Times of Swaziland after having visited his son yesterday.

According to a source from Swaziland’s democratic movement, Maxwell had informed the prison authorities about his illness, but was denied treatment. A representative from the Zakhele Remand Centre, where Maxwell is held, stated that Maxwell would be offered treatment, however, although he claimed to have been unaware of Maxwell’s illness.

The democratic movement have insisted that Maxwell Dlamini’s trial date should be set without further delay as they suspected that Maxwell’s illness was due to stress caused by the uncertainty surrounding his case and his treatment by Swazi police and prison authorities.

Maxwell Dlamini was pre-emptively detained and allegedly tortured by Swazi police before the April 12 uprising in Swaziland, where the Swazi regime violently clamped down on demonstrators and detained the entire leadership of the Swazi democratic movement.

Maxwell Dlamini has, together with his fellow accused Musa Ngubeni, been forced to sign a statement admitting possession of explosives and denied bail on several occasions. Maxwell has also been denied the right to sit his exams at the university of Swaziland where he is a student, and the Swazi authorities have done their utmost to obstruct their lawyer, Mandla Mkhwanazi.

The charges against Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Mgubeni of being in possession of explosives, and thus contravening Sections 8 and 9 of Swaziland’s Explosives Act 4 of 1961, have been described as preposterous by several members of the democratic movement in Swaziland, as well as by unions and solidarity organisations around the world, and Amnesty International has urged Swaziland to ensure their safety.

7. July 2011

Ukranian students support the Free Maxwell Campaign in demanding his release. Read the full statement here.

1. July 2011

Swaziland Solidarity Network supports the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign:

Dear comrades and friends,

The Swaziland Solidarity Network [SSN] a solidarity movement based in South Africa is fully behind the Free Maxwell campaign and all political prisoners namely: Bheki Dlamini, Zonke Dlamini, Musa Ngubeni and one of our own Amos Mbedzi a member  of the SSN. SACP, ANC and former MK.

Regards
Lucky Lukhele, SSN Spokesperson

23. June 2011

Focus on the explosives case

From the Swaziland United Democratic Front ‘Frontline’ Newsletter, June 2011:

By Dr Sikelela Dlamini(SUDF Coordinator)

Maxwell Dlamini was first arrested on Sunday 10^th April 2011 at a police roadblock at Sidvwashini (Mbabane) along-side Sifiso Mabuza of the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO), Samkeliso Ginindza, Deputy Secretary General of the Swaziland National Union of Students(SNUS) of which Maxwell is the President, & Themba Mabuza of the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF). The four political activists were driving in the same car, returning from a weekend workshop in the Mpumalanga town of Wit-bank, South Africa. They were charged under the internationally-condemned Suppression of Terrorism Act (2008). These charges were however subsequently dropped without much explanation [...]

 Read the whole article here:

18. June 2011

All-Africa Students Union supports Free Maxwell Campaign:

Dear Comrades,

We strongly condemn the authoritarian regime in Swaziland as we join the
campaign in the Name ALL AFRICA STUDENTS UNION, AASU.

We will also be sending our strong message to the Government of Swaziland
to effect the immediate release of Maxwell Dlamini.

Aluta continua

Olufemi Lawson
Secretary General, AASU.

15. June 2011

Below is a text version of the article about the campaign in Swazi News.

‘Free Maxwell Dlamini’ campaign on the Internet

BY BONISILE MAKHUBU, Swazi News, 11. June 2011

MBABANE – An international drive dubbed the ‘Free Maxwell Dlamini’ campaign has been initiated, calling for the immediate release of the two local explosives suspects.

These are Swaziland National Students Union President Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni.

Campaign Coordinator Peter Kenworthy (from Denmark) said this campaign seeks to help secure the release of political prisoner and Swazi student leader Maxwell Dlamini.

Kenworthy is from Africa Contact, an organisation that works with the Foundation for Socio-Economic Justice and the Swaziland United Democratic Front (SUDF).

Dlamini was arrested for allegedly being found with explosives together with Musa Ngubeni this year, just after the April 12 protest march.

In a press statement issued on Wednesday, Kenworthy said, “We have had a great response to the Free Maxwell Dlamini campaign in its first couple of days. Nearly 100 e-mails, demanding the release of Maxwell, have been sent to the Swazi regime in the first 24 hours. There have been several requests for a word-file version of the campaign that can be printed and sent by mail from the approximately 95 per cent of Swazis who do not have access to the Internet. Over 500 people accessed our website in the first day. And people from all over the world have wished to publicly support the campaign.”

He said the message that they sent out on June 6, urging people and organisations to participate in and support the campaign to free Dlamini, has also been distributed high and wide all over the Internet.

Among the demands is the following, “We, the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign, together with the people and organisations that support the campaign – demand that Maxwell Dlamini is released unconditionally and that any and all wrongdoings committed by Swaziland’s police forces and security forces towards Maxwell Dlamini and other members of Swaziland’s democratic movement are investigated, and that any perpetrators are brought before a court of law,” said Kenworthy.

Dlamini and Ngubeni made their first court appearance before Manzini Magistrate Florence Msibi on April 14, 2011. The suspects were denied bail after applying through their attorney, Mandla Mkhwanazi.

According to the charge sheet, the two committed the offence of Contravening Section 9 as read with Section 8 (1) (c) of the Explosives Act 4 of 1961. In that upon the April 13, 2011 and at or near Mbikwakhe are in the Manzini Region the said accused each or both of them acting in furtherance of a common purpose did unlawfully and intentionally possess the under listed explosives without a valid licence or permit or alternatively Contravening Section 14 (1) as read with 2 (a) of the Arms and Ammunitions Act 24 of 1964.

The explosives, according to the charge sheet, include:

• 6 x detoriators (sic) (presumably detonators)
• 2 x blasting cartridges
• 2 x cape fuse cables, red in colour
• 2 x igniting cord, green in colour

MBABANE – Members of the ‘Free Maxwell Dlamini’ campaign intend to write a letter to the Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas Dlamini.

The letter will be copied to the Office of the King, Cabinet Office, Deputy Prime Minister Themba Masuku, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lutfo Dlamini and the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs.

Campaign Coordinator Peter Kenworthy has posted the letter on the Internet where he invites people to send in their comments and send the letter to the above government offices.

14. June 2011

Sikelela Dlamini, Project Coordinator of the Swaziland United Democratic Front, says that the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign is making an impact in Swaziland, not least in encouraging Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni.

“Your e-mail messages were read at the prayer at the weekend. Max & Musa have been alerted to these and the Internet-based campaign too. I am told they’re greatly encouraged by the messages of solidarity.”

13. June 2011

The Times of Swaziland brought an article about the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign in its Swazi News Saturday edition. “It was good for Maxwell to see for himself that there is something of this sort going on in Europe,” a source from within the democratic movement who has visited Maxwell told me.

12. June 2011

Some of the messages from the Facebook page of the campaign:

”This is just a way to scare students 4rm excising their right to freedom of speech,” “Stay strong Maxwell,” “Solidarity from Barcelona. We send you our energy and strength!!!,” “In solidarity! from Chile!,” “in unison,alutha continua!,” “Thanx 4dis group twl hlp us 2 brng 2geda ideas on hw to free our mates whu we arrested 4 nthng.”

11. June 2011

The campaign is now on Facebook. Thanks to Mo from The Student Representative Body at the University of Marburg (AStA Marburg), Germany.

10. June 2011

The SABC Special Assignment programme, Swaziland’s Political Prisoners, is now on You Tube. Amongst other things, it includes interviews in prison with Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni filmed with a hidden camera.

9. June 2011

The Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign and the trial of Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Ngubeni has been in the news in England (The Guardian), Denmark (Arbejderen and U-landsnyt) and Norway (SAIH) in the past few days.

The statements of solidarity and support  from organisations from around the world also keep flowing in.

—–

Solidarity statement from three Basque organisations:

Basque Observaatory of Human Rights – Behatokia
Group Against Torture of the Basque Country – TAT
Association of Relatives of Basque Political Prisoners – Etxerat

Stop torture Release Dlamini

Maxwell Dlamini, the President of the Swaziland National Union of Students, was pre-emptively detained and allegedly tortured by Swazi police before the April 12 uprising in Swaziland, where the Swazi regime violently clamped down on demonstrators and detained the entire leadership of the Swazi democratic movement.

There have been many reports of torture and mistreatment by Swazi police and security forces, as well as by Swazi prison officers.

Swaziland’s Prime Minister, Barnabas Dlamini, has even warned that sipakatane – a form of torture where people’s feet are repeatedly beaten with spikes – could be used against protesters.

Swaziland was recently reported to the African Court of Human and Peoples Rights – an institution that makes “final and binding decisions on human rights violations” in regard to the African Charter.  Swaziland is being urged to “stop police brutality, arbitrary detentions and torture … [and] amend the Suppression of Terrorism Act and repeal the Sedition and Subversive Activities Act.”

Maxwell Dlamini has, together with his fellow accused Musa Ngubeni, been forced to sign a statement admitting possession of explosives and denied bail on several occasions,  and the Swazi authorities have done their utmost to obstruct their lawyer, Mandla Mkhwanazi.

The charges against Maxwell Dlamini and Musa Mgubeni of being in possession of explosives, and thus contravening Sections 8 and 9 of Swaziland’s Explosives Act 4 of 1961, have been described as preposterous by several members of the democratic movement in Swaziland, as well as by unions and solidarity organisations around the world

The explosives that the police claim Maxwell was in possession of were allegedly to have been used during the peaceful mass demonstrations for multi-party democracy and socio-economic justice between April 12 and April 14 that were brutally crushed by Swazi police and security forces. If convicted, Maxwell Dlamini faces up to five years in prison.

We demand that Maxwell Dlamini is released unconditionally and that any and all wrongdoings committed by Swaziland police forces and security forces towards Maxwell Dlamini and other members of Swaziland democratic movement are investigated, and that any perpetrators are brought before a court of law.

Basque Country, 7^th June 2011

8. June 2011

A press release in English and Danish was sent out to the media today:

PRESS RELEASE: Launch of the Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign

We have had a great response to the Free Maxwell Dlamini campaign – a campaign that seeks to help secure the release of political prisoner and Swazi student leader Maxwell Dlamini – in its first couple of days.

Nearly a hundred e-mails, demanding the release of Maxwell, have been sent to the Swazi regime in the first 24 hours. There have been several requests for a word-file version of the campaign that can be printed and sent by mail from the approx. 95% of Swazis who do not have access to the Internet. Over 500 people accessed our website in the first day. And people from all over the world – including Basque lawyers, Norweigan youths, Namibian and Danish NGO’s, and South African University employees – have wished to publicly support the campaign.

The message that we sent out on June 6, urging people and organisations to participate in and support the campaign to free Maxwell, has also been distributed high and wide all over the Internet.

About Maxwell

President of the Swaziland National Union of Students, Maxwell Dlamini, has been detained, tortured, and forced by Swaziland’s regime to sign a confession that says he was in possession of explosives during the April 12 Swazi Uprising – a movement inspired by similar uprisings in North Africa and The Middle East.

Maxwell has also been denied the right to sit his exams at the university of Swaziland where he is a student, and the Swazi authorities have done their utmost to obstruct their lawyer, Mandla Mkhwanazi.

We – The Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign, together with the people and organisations that support the campaign – demand that Maxwell Dlamini is released unconditionally and that any and all wrongdoings committed by Swaziland’s police forces and security forces towards Maxwell Dlamini and other members of Swaziland’s democratic movement are investigated, and that any perpetrators are brought before a court of law.

The charges against Maxwell

The charges against Maxwell Dlamini of being in possession of explosives, and thus contravening Sections 8 and 9 of Swaziland’s Explosives Act 4 of 1961, have been described as preposterous by several members of the democratic movement in Swaziland, as well as by unions and solidarity organisations around the world, and Amnesty International has urged Swaziland to ensure his, and fellow accused Musa Ngubeni’s, safety.

The explosives that the police claim Maxwell was in possession of were allegedly to have been used during the peaceful mass demonstrations for multi-party democracy and socio-economic justice between April 12 and April 14 that were brutally crushed by Swazi police and security forces. If convicted, Maxwell Dlamini faces up to five years in prison.

Maxwell Dlamini appeared in court in Manzini, Swaziland, on April 15

According to Vincent Ncongwane, Secretary General of the Swaziland Federation of Labour, the charges are an attempt to “cover up for the heavy-handedness the police applied against innocent citizens” during the April uprising.

Other similar politically motivated cases have also shown that the charges against Maxwell Dlamini are in all probability fabricated. One of the more prominent and well-documented political cases in Swaziland was against PUDEMO President Mario Masuku in 2009. Mario Masuku was imprisoned for 340 days awaiting trial on charges of terrorism, but when he was finally brought before a judge, the case was laughed out of court in a matter of hours. The case was apparently too ridiculous, even for a Swazi court.

7. June 2011

We have had a great response to the campaign in its first 24 hours or so. Nearly a hundred e-mails have been sent to the Swazi regime, there have been several requests for a word-file version of the campaign that can be printed and sent by mail from the approx. 95% of Swazis who do not have access to the internet, over 500 people have accessed our website, and people from all over the world – including Basque lawyers, Norweigan youths, Namibain NGO’s, and South African University employees – have wished to publically support the campaign.

The message that we sent out yesterday, urging people and organisations to participate in and support the campaign to free Maxwell has also been distributed high and wide all over the internet.

Thank you very much, all of you who have so far taken the time to be part of this campaign. The more people, the more pressure on the Swazi regime to release its political prisoners, including Maxwell Dlamini, the better!

—

The campaign has received several mails, asking why it focuses narrowly on having Maxwell Dlamini released. The reason for this is that we believe that campaigning for the release of Maxwell – and thereby enabling people around the world to identify symbolically with an individual, not a “faceless” number of people – will have a good chance of helping bring about the eventual aim of the release of all political prisoners and the bringing about a ”new” and democratic Swaziland, where people are not detained and tortured for advocating democracy. Just look at the Free Mandela campaign in South Africa in the eighties and nineties!

And the fact is that there are already several more broader campaigns that call for, amongst other things, the release of political prisoners in Swaziland – such as the Swaziland Democracy Campaign, ACTSA’s campaign for democracy and human rights in Swaziland and Africa Contact’s Free Swaziland Campaign.

So when Maxwell is hopefully soon released, then we should by no means stop there but continue to demand the release of all political prisoners in Swaziland, that the rule of law is upheld, that human rights are observed, and that true democracy and socio-economic justice is implemented in Swaziland.

6. June 2011

The Free Maxwell Dlamini Campaign was lauched today. We hope that we can play a part in securing Maxwell’s release - together with the many people and organisations within and outside Swaziland who are actively calling for the same thing.