Renegade chief expelled again, despite court ruling

In a dramatic about turn, the Swazi government at the weekend again banished renegade chief Mliba Fakudze, who was permitted to return to his ancestral land from exile only last Thursday. "We filed an affidavit with the Court of Appeal today explaining what happened to the chief and his people, and that the court decision in their favour still has not been enforced," advocate Lucas Maziya, Chief Fakudze's attorney, told IRIN. Security forces on Sunday arrived at Fakudze's home in Macetjeni, 150 km east of the capital Mbabane, and ordered him to leave the area for a second time. In 2000, Fakudze and some 200 followers were evicted because they refused to accept a brother of King Mswati, Prince Maguga Dlamini, as their chief. "Some of those in power felt the evictees return could not be allowed as long as they are [still] defiant," said a source at the justice ministry. Justice minister Prince David Dlamini, another of Mswati's brothers, told the Court of Appeal last week that the community had been free to return since last month, when Prime Minister Themba Dlamini had issued a statement reversing the government's earlier hard line position, in a bid to defuse a "rule of law" crisis. The Court of Appeal, Swaziland's highest court, dissolved in November 2002 after the government refused to implement a court decision allowing the evictee's return. Last week, appeal court justices refused to hear new cases until their previous rulings were honoured. News reports on Monday of the government's expulsion of Fakudze from Macetjeni struck a note of dismay. "There is certainly no hope for Swaziland after this, locally and internationally," said the Times of Swaziland. "This will serve to show the entire world that the government of Swaziland is led by hooligans and liars," alleged Ntombi Nkosi, president of the Women's League of the banned political party, Ngwane National Liberatory Congress. "This shows that the country is still not ready to resolve the issue of the rule of law," said Jan Sithole, Secretary-General of the Swaziland Federation of Trade Unions. IRIN was unable to get official comment from the government. Amnesty International has been critical of the displacement of the Macetjeni people since they were rounded up by police in a midnight raid in 2000, and deposited in a field 100 km away without food or shelter. The organisation last week congratulated the government on taking the first step toward a restoration of the rule of law by reviving the appeal court and accepting the court decision on the evictee's return. Legal sources said that by again flouting the appeal court decision, the palace was indicating its stance on a second court ruling that called for the jailing of the commissioner of the Royal Swaziland Police Force, Edgar Hillary, on contempt of court charges for blocking the Macetjeni community's return.