For mindre end et år siden drøftede han demokrati og ytringsfrihed med danske lokalpolitikere i Gladsaxe under kommunal- og regionsvalget 19. november 2013. I dag sidder lederen af partiet PUDEMO, Mario Masuku, fængslet, anklaget for terrorisme, i sit sydafrikanske hjemland.
He is imprisoned, charged with terrorism in tiny Swaziland between South Africa and Mozambique for having shouted “viva PUDEMO” at a union rally on May Day, writes Swaziland Newsletter in its latest issue Friday.
“In my country local authorities cannot implement their own policy because the king controls everything. During the municipal elections in Gladsaxe, on the other hand, I saw an election process that was well-organised and transparent and politicians who were responsible to the electorate,” Mario Masuku noted during his stay in Denmark.
He is the President of the People’s United Democratic Movement, or simply PUDEMO, which is a party that fights by peaceful means for democracy and basic rights for everyone in the absolute monarchy of Swaziland, one of the most unequal countries in the world.
Fra fejret gæst til koldt fængselsgulv
Masuku was invited by the Danish Institute for Parties and Democracy (DIPD) and the Red-Green Alliance (Enhedslisten) to discuss and be inspired by the Danish municipal elections and Danish politics in general.
Mere i telegrammet http://www.u-landsnyt.dk/nyhed/04-06-13/dansk-kommunalvalg-bliver-till-bsstykke-u-lande
He was present throughout the election process, including the ballot count, and spoke to Gladsaxe’s mayor Karin Søjberg Holst (S) and several of the other local politicians who stood for election.
“The respect for the election process of the electorate in Gladsaxe was clear to see. They were well-informed of the process because they have access to the politicians and because they have freedom of speech and a free media,” Mario Masuku said at the time.
Now he is in prison, sleeping on a cold and hard prison floor, for having used his right to freedom of speech in criticizing his own country’s system, and because he demands the right’s that the Danish electorate take for granted.
Behandles ekstra strengt i fængslet
Recently he was refused legal representation by His Majesty’s correctional Services (fængselsvæsnet).
Masuku’s advocates which are led by Leo Gama were refused access to their client because prison officials at the Zakhele remand centre were claiming to be following orders.
Lawyer Gama had to go through frustrating measures in order for the advocates to be allowed to consult with the imprisoned party leader.
Not only has Gama had to deal with a sickly client, because Masuku’s health continues to be unstable, but he constantly has to give legal counsel to the prison officials who are in the habit of forgetting the dictates of the law when they have been given orders by higher ranking official’s.
Recently when Masuku’s health condition deteriorated to the point of being critical, the prison officials refused him access to his private medical doctor even though it had become clear that whatever medical measures had been tried at the remand centre were failing to help him regain stable health.
Medical measures taken at the prisons are of the quality of only maintaining the status that prisons have medical facilities, and rarely address ailments of detainees.
It is assumed that Masuku is an especially marked man and that where he is concerned, rights that are supposed to form part of day-to-day prison procedure become a strenuous task with a myriad of red tape.
In cases where other detainees are allowed certain rights, Masuku has to go through a laborious task of being sent from pillar to post (fra Herodes til Pilatus).
Kilde: News from and about Swaziland, compiled by Africa Contact (Denmark) in collaboration with Swazi Media Commentary (www.swazimedia.blogspot.com),
