Mphandlana can’t visit jailed Mario, Maxwell 03/08/2014 03:00:00 BY WELCOME DLAMINI image Mphandlana Shongwe. Political activist Mphandlana Shongwe wants to have a word with His Majesty’s Correctional Services Commissioner General Isaiah Mzuthini Ntshangase after learning that he is no longer allowed into the Zakhele Remand Centre. Shongwe has been banned from visiting the centre to check on two incarcerated political activists in Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini. Masuku and Dlamini are presidents of proscribed entities the People’s United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO) and the Swaziland Youth Congress (SWAYOCO) respectively. Shongwe is a member of both banned organisations and has been involved in their leadership structures for years now. He got to learn on Friday morning that he was now a ‘persona non grata’ at the correctional facility. The Sunday Observer has seen a memorandum placed within the facility which reads that “Mphandlana Peter Shongwe is not allowed to visit Mario Masuku and Maxwell Dlamini”. No reasons are provided in the memo for the decision. Shongwe told this publication that he was shocked when he went to the facility on Friday only to be told that he was no longer permitted to see his two colleagues. “When I asked the officers about the reasons, they told me that I had misbehaved during my last visit, which was last week Sunday. I was shocked even more because I do not recall behaving in a manner deemed inappropriate on that day,” he said. Relating what happened on that particular Sunday, Shongwe said he went to visit his associates carrying South African newspapers for them to read. He named the newspapers as the City Press, Sunday Times and the Sunday Independent. “I was told by the officers there that they would not allow me to give Mario and Maxwell the Sunday Independent because it carried an article about the sentencing of the Nation magazine editor Bheki Makhubu and human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko. I tried to reason with them that the newspaper did not carry anything wrong and was even available in local shops and supermarkets but they did not want to listen to me,” Shongwe said. He said he then asked the officers which law they were using in preventing him to give the newspaper to the two inmates. “They told me they were applying the Prison Act. I have been in and out of prison for most of my life and I have never heard that this law prevents inmates from being given reading material. People inside prison are allowed to read because that is how they pass time and also keep themselves abreast with what is happening on the outside,” he continued. Shongwe said he would be consulting his legal representatives with a view of challenging the matter in court and have the Prison Act interpreted to ascertain whether what the correctional officers were doing was legal. “I am very angry with what is happening. I don’t understand why this is being done. My worry now is that our colleagues could be mistreated by the officers and no one would know because we are not allowed to see them,” he lamented. Adding, Shongwe said: “Since I live in Manzini, I am one of those given the responsibility of checking up on our colleagues in prison. I have to know how they are doing and what their needs are.” He said he tried to have an audience with senior officers at the institution but could not hence he now wants to see the commissioner general. This is the second time that Masuku and Dlamini have been stopped from accessing a news publication. Mid last month, there were reports that members of the proscribed entities brought them copies of the Nation magazine but were not allowed to receive them. Officers allegedly told the visitors that the magazine was political and therefore could not be allowed into the facility. The visitors were reportedly threatened with a ban from visiting the centre if they insisted on having the magazines given to the two inmates. Bongani Khumalo, the Spokesperson for His Majesty’s Correctional Services, confirmed the fact that the magazine was not allowed into the remand centre. He was quoted saying each prison facility had an officer in charge who decided what material was allowed into the facility. This, he reportedly said, they could do as representatives of Commissioner General Mzuthini Ntshangase. “The officer in charge at Zakhele used his discretion not to allow the magazine into the facility as it would not only be read by the two men but by all the other men they share a cell with,” he was quoted. He denied allegations that the magazine was branded as political because as officers at the Correctional Services they did not know what constituted a political reading material. Masuku and Dlamini are facing charges of sedition for statements they made during May Day celebration at the Salesian Sports Ground in Manzini. observer.org.sz/news/64631-mphandlana-can%E2%80%99t-visit-jailed-mario,-maxwell.html
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 10:12:54 +0000
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