Business Day
*ANC backs release of SACP man in Swazi jail*** *Nick Kotch, Business Day, Johannesburg, 28 September 2012 *THE African National Congress (ANC) is backing a campaign launched in Johannesburg yesterday for the release from a Swazi prison of South African Communist Party (SACP) member Amos Mbedzi.
Mr Mbedzi was convicted on September 17 of murder, sedition, the unlawful possession of explosives and entering Swaziland illegally. The Swazi High Court sentenced him to a total of 85 years' imprisonment on the separate counts, but since the terms will run concurrently he will serve only 25 years.
The "Save Amos Mbedzi" campaign was launched with support from 16 organisations led by all three members of South Africa's tripartite alliance --- the ANC, the SACP and the Congress of South African Trade Unions.
Their joint statement condemned what it termed a "biased and unprofessional" judgment and accused prosecutors of doing the bidding of King Mswati, Africa's last absolute monarch.
"The ANC supports us all the way," said Lucky Lukhele of the Swaziland Solidarity Network, the co-ordinators of the campaign.
Mr Mbedzi's lawyer and his supporters say he will appeal against the conviction.
All the sentences were backdated to September 20 2008, when the offences were committed and when Mr Mbedzi was arrested. He was badly injured and Swazi citizen Musa Dlamini and South African Jack Govender were killed when a bomb went off accidentally.
The court decided that Mr Mbedzi and the two deceased men had prepared the explosives in a botched plan to overthrow King Mswati's regime.
"When one makes an honest analysis of the case, it becomes clear that the Swazi courts will apply just about any type of punishment that King Mswati orders them to impose," the pro-Mbedzi campaign statement said.
"The South African government, the tripartite alliance and all South African citizens cannot rest on their laurels while a citizen of their country is subjected to a kangaroo court and sentenced (to) crimes he did not commit."
There was no immediate response from the Swazi government.Swaziland's mounting financial problems have put the spotlight on King Mswati's large and costly household. The king has at least a dozen wives.
South African trade unions have thrown their weight behind opponents of King Mswati's rule. They have organised political campaigns but these have failed to mobilise Swazis in large numbers.
The South African government has been generally supportive of its tiny neighbour. It agreed last year to provide a R2.4bn bail-out and attached political and economic reform conditions.
After the trial, Mario Masuku, the president of the banned People's United Democratic Movement, said he was expecting a harsh sentence.
"The judiciary is not independent. There was no intention of killing, yet he was convicted of murder," Mr Masuku said.
Before his sentencing, Mbedzi appeared calm and joked with journalists until he was rebuked by a prison warder for signalling a "peace sign". The gallery of the court was packed with Swazi traditionalists, a prince, Mbedzi's relatives and members of Swazi pro-democracy organisations.
After the sentencing, a group of 20 activists sang and danced outside the court before police officers escorted them away. King Mswati's supporters cried foul, saying the sentence was lenient.
***From: http://www.bdlive.co.za/Feeds/BusinessDay/2012/09/28/anc-backs-release-of-sacp-man-in-swazi-jail*
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