arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)

Once he spoke to millions through his music and poetry, was one of the most powerful advocates in the country against apartheid, and after it was defeated, for a short time was almost the poet-lauerate of the ruling party, the African National Congress. He even gave a poetry rendering and introduced Nelson Mandela as President at his inauguration in 1994, but then he quickly became persona non grata, and now he is in prison.

What happened? How could a person who rose to such heights, a national hero on the one hand, sink to such depths and become a villian on the other hand. To understand that, you would have to try to understand something about post-apartheid politics in South Africa, and something about the man himself.

According to Dorothy Flynn of the Boston-based Campaign to Free Mzwakhe Mbuli, he is "South Africa's beloved poet, musician and movement hero, [who has] been incarcerated since October 1997." She says he is incarcerated with severe restrictions at the Leeuwkop maximum security prison, following conviction at the end of March 1999 for crimes he did not commit: armed robbery and possession of a hand-grenade.

Flynn says that his punishment is both cruel and oppressive. He was denied bail five times by several courts, and has been held in jail cells where 65 prisoners one toilet, and four men shared one mattress. At one court hearing , Mzwakhe complained about his handcuffs being too tight on his wrists, and was subsequently attacked by three police officers, where he sustained numerous injuries and had to be hospitalized.

Many of these were the same brutal and racist cops from the apartheid regime, now employed by the new Black government. The methods to silence political critics with frame-up arrests and torture were also the same. The frame-up of Mzwakhe was so similar to the apartheid secret police agent's arrest and torture of him in 1988 that no one can dismiss the odious nature of the current case. At that time, hw was also the victim of corrupt police agents planting a hand-grenade on him, and in later years the cops actually admitted doing it.

Both during and after the peiod of the apartheid, Mzwakhe Mbuli was a best-selling performance artist and social critic. He railed against apartheid,racism and police brutality, and as a result the white government jailed and tortured him; he railed against poverty, police brutality, and political corruption after the fall of apartheid in 1994, and now the Black government has jailed and tortured him. Where is the justice here? The crime of Mzwakhe Mbuli is that he dared to speak out.

This man, who has dedicated his life to the struggle for freedom against all forms of oppression and discrimination, is being jailed by a government allegedly dedicated to democracy and human rights in South Africa. Regrettably, the African National Congress is now pretending that there are no longer any political prisoners in the country, and that Mzwakhe is a "common criminal". However, Mzwakhe's case makes a lie of all that, because he is universally recognized as a political prisoner. More and more people each day are bbeginning to understand that he was unjustly charged and convicted in this case, and that the conviction tarnishes the South African government and its judicial system.

The CAMPAIGN FOR THE RELEASE OF MZWAKHE MBULI has asked that all persons who believe in the common concepts of justice and freedom, write letters of complaint to President Thabo Mbeki at President@anc.org.za, demanding the release of Mzwakhe Mbuli. The campaign also asks people to contact Amnesty International and urge that they adopt Mzwakhe Mbuli as a prisoner of conscience and begin to campaign on his case, mailto:amnesty@amnesty.org.za, and to the UN Office of the high Comissioner for Human Rights, c/o South African Human Rights Commission, rally@jhb.sahrc.org.za .

You can get more information about the case of Mzwakhe Mbuli at http://www.mzwakhe.org, or by writing to: Campaign for Release of Mzwakhe Mbuli, P.O. Box 390058, Cambridge, MA. 02139 USA

MODEL LETTER FOR EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY FOR MZWAKHE MBULI

The Honorable Thabo Mbeki
President of South Africa

RE: Executive Clemency for Mr. Mzwakhe Mbuli

Dear Mr. President:

Recently your country held a major human rights conference in Durban, the World Conference Against Racism, Xenophobia, and Religious Intolerance. At that conference, South Africa and the majority of the nations of the world pledged to further human rights, justice and equality for all persons.

It is in that regard that I write you concerning the case of Mzwakhe Mbuli, who is currently being held at Leeuwkop prison for charges that he is clearly not guilty of, but for which he is serving 13 years in prison. He was arrested in 1997 for bank robbery and possession of a hand-grenade, and was convicted in a blatantly unfair court prosecution.

Mr. President, Mr. Mbuli is not common criminal, as members of your security and prison services seek to depict him. He is an international celebrity whose songs and poetry are sold all over the world. He is seen as a political prisoner, a "voice of the voiceless", much as framed-up American death row prisoner, Mumia Abu Jamal is seen by persons all over the world. Mr. Mbuli was railroaded to jail, and despite lack of a criminal record and his status as a national leader and activist, he was denied bail, and in fact held for a year and a-half before trial in conditions more befitting the apartheid police state than a celebrated democracy that vualues human rights and fair play. This is fundamentally unfair. It is a shame and a disgrace, and will come back to haunt your government if nothing is done to fairly resolve this matter.

Because (the late) Mr. Govan Mbeki, former President Nelson Mandela, and so many members of the ANC leadership were imprisoned under harsh conditions for so many years, you should know the evils of imprisonment for political offenses as opposed to criminal behavior. The fact is, sir, no one really believe that Mr. Mbuli is guilty of his criminal charges that have him in prison, not even the people who arrested and convicted him, . Rather, he was prosecuted to silence a political critic of the government. This is most shameful, and was the hallmark of the apartheid regime, which did not tolerate any dissent. So how shall we justify the imprisonment of Mr. Mbuli?

We call upon you, Mr. President, to do the right thing in this matter and grant this man executive clemency before this cases tarnishes the entire legacy of the ANC and the human rights stance of the current government. Fairness and justice demands that Mr. Mzwakhe Mbulit be released without conditions. He is no threat to society, and his further incarceration in no way enhances the reputation of the legal process in South Africa . This is a case where executive clemency or a full pardon is warranted in this case by your office. Mr. President, you are the only one who can correct the case in this fashion, and I encourage you to do so. Thank you.

Respectfully,