MBABANE:Judge Sipho Nkosi who tried to release murder suspect Sipho Shongwe has been suspended by King Mswati after a recommendation from Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala.
King Mswati rules eSwatini as an absolute Monarch with Executive, Judicial and Legislative powers, he appoints and controls the Judges.
“In exercise of the powers vested in me in terms of Section 158 of the Constitution of Eswatini Act, I, Mswati III, King and Ingwenyama of Eswatini suspend Justice Sipho Anthony Nkosi from being a Judge of the High Court of the Kingdom of ESwatini with immediate effect” reads Legal Notice No 241 of 2021.
Judicial sources told this publication that the Judge has been suspended for granting bail to murder suspect Sipho Shongwe who is accused of killing businessman Victor Gamedze, the State appealed the decision to keep Shongwe behind bars.
“Even though the Judge is accused of misconduct among others, the truth is there are moves to fire him for refusing to take orders from the authorities,”said the judicial source.
Efforts to reach the Judge Sipho proved unsuccessful at the time of compiling this report.
The Judge once threatened to spill the beans in an open court during the bail hearing of the murder suspect. According to insiders, since then, the Chief Justice has been working towards removing him.
When this publication tried to reach Chief Justice Bheki Maphalala on Wednesday evening, his number was busy and couldn’t be reached.
Suspended Judge Sipho Nkosi