Mduduzi Bacede Mabuza, a former Eswatini MP, was denied his court application to continue getting leftovers while serving 25 years in prison.
Mabuza petitioned the High Court of Eswatini for permission to continue obtaining meals at his own expense, such as KFC, Nando’s, Galito’s, and pizza, while refraining from eating prison food.
According to Swaziland News, Mabuza is serving 25 years after being detained in July 2021, with former MP Mthandeni Dube, who was sentenced to 18 years.
They were charged with inciting violence after campaigning for changes to the country’s governing system, which gives King Mswati complete authority.
According to the journal, convicts were able to take meals from outside the prison until they were convicted, after which they were required to consume prison food.
According to the publication, shortly after their arrest, Dube decided to stop eating his own meals and start consuming food provided by Matsapha Correctional Services, where they are being kept.
However, Mabuza continued to eat the takeout delivered by his relatives until he was condemned on July 25, 2024.
It was alleged that in his application, Mabuza claimed that a doctor had ordered a particular diet for him due to his health.
His argument was swiftly shot down by the commissioner general, who claimed that no doctor could prescribe fast food to a patient.
Mabuza is now required to stick to the correctional service diet after losing his application.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the imprisonment of Mabuza and Dube is a harsh reminder of the lack of accountability and justice for significant crimes committed by law enforcement during and around the 2021 protests.
“The jailing of two politically dissenting voices in a country where the judiciary is neither impartial nor independent is another mark against Eswatini’s already deteriorating human rights record,” HRW said.
