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| Africa Subsaharan |
| Activists arrested in Swazi demo denied bail |
| 2011-05-07 |
| [The Nation (Nairobi)] A Swaziland court today denied bail to two activists tossed in the slammer in pro-democracy protests last month on charges of illegal possession of explosives. Maxwell Dlamini, president of the Swaziland Students' Union, and Musa Ngubeni, a member of the banned opposition People's United Democratic Front (PUDEMO), were tossed in the slammer on April 13 in a clampdown on protests against the government of King Mswati III, Africa's last absolute monarch. During a ruling lasting less than five minutes, magistrate Florence Msibi said their release would undermine public security. But defence attorney Musa Mkhwanazi said he plans to appeal the decision to the High Court. The Swaziland Democracy Campaign condemned the ruling as a "travesty of justice", saying the pair poses no danger to society. But according to the police, detonators and electric cables were found in a bag that the two were carrying on the day of the protests. |
| Posted by:Fred |