Mario Thembeka Masuku (October 1951 – 11 January 2021) was a Swazi politician who was the leader of the People's United Democratic Movement (PUDEMO), Eswatini's banned opposition party.

Contents

• 1 Early life and education
• 2 Imprisonment for political activity
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Early life and education

He was born in the village of Makhosini located in Nhlangano Swaziland and attended Evelyn Baring High School.

Imprisonment for political activity

The Royal Swazi Police arrested and imprisoned Masuku at Matsapha maximum security prison on charges of sedition in 2001.

He was arrested again on November 15, 2008, under the Suppression of Terrorism Act of 2008. At the funeral of Musa Dlamini, who died while supposedly trying to bomb the Lozitha bridge, Masuku is alleged to have verbally supported recent bombings of government ins*utions. He was acquitted and discharged at the High Court on September 21, 2009 after spending 340 days in prison.

On 1 May 2014, Masuku, after a making a speech at a May day rally in Manzini, was arrested together with student activist Maxwell Dlamini. They were charged with terrorism and sedition. A widely supported international campaign for their release was started shortly thereafter.

He died on 11 January 2021.

References

External links

• Mario Masuku: 'A brief autobiography'
• Mario Masuku meets with senior Danish politician Mogens Lykketoft
• International campaign for the release of Mario Masuku

He stepped down as president of PUDEMO, and handed over the role to a young leader, Mlungisi Makhanya.