MBABANE: Michael Tsabedze, the lawyer who allegedly spied on incarcerated pro-democracy Member of Parliament(MP) Bacede Mabuza has confessed that he allegedly worked for the State while representing the MPs.
This is contained in documentary evidence in possession of this Swaziland News, the lawyer allegedly signed a confession letter detailing how he worked for the State while representing the MPs after being confronted by Bacede’s elder brother Bheki Mabuza.
As part of the spying, the lawyer allegedly recorded MP Bacede without his permission during a consultation meeting at the Matsapha Maximum Prison and subsequently shared the information with the State that is persecuting the MP.
“Upon such discovery, I confessed to Mr B Mabuza that indeed I was employed by the Government. I would like to state it clearly that my employment at the Attorney General’s Chambers was purely my efforts.I had applied for a job there, I went to write an aptitude test and I was informed that I got the job.Mr Bheki Mabuza then requested that I would submit all documents(soft and hard copies) in my disposal pertaining the case”, reads the confession letter in part, signed by the alleged spying lawyer.
It has been disclosed that after being exposed by this publication that he was an alleged spy for the State, the lawyer changed location and was assisted by officers within the AGs office to secure a safe place.
This comes after members of the public commented online and threatened to attacked him for spying their MP.
Reached for comments earlier, lawyer Michael Tsabedze confirmed that he was secretly working for the Attorney General’s Office while representing the pro-democracy MPs, but denied ever sharing secrets of the MPs with the State.
When asked why he recorded MP Bacede without his permission during a consultation, the lawyer said he wanted to refer to the recording while preparing some documents for the MP’s case.
“It’s true that I am working for the AGs office, I wanted to sign a contract first with Government before withdrawing my services as a lawyer for the MPs.I want to assure you Nkhosi that I never shared private information about the MPs with the State.Even the recording you are asking me about, it’s true that I recorded MP Bacede during a consultation, however, I did that specifically to refer to the recording while preparing some documents. Bacede did question me and asked why I recorded him without his permission and I gave him the same explanation. He warned me not to record him again without his permission”, said the lawyer.
Subsequent efforts were made to seek clarity from the alleged spying lawyer regarding the confession letter he signed, however, he had not responded at the time of compiling this report.
Reached for comments on Sunday, Sicelo Mngomezulu, the South African Correspondent Attorney representing the pro-democracy MPs confirmed knowledge of the report signed by the lawyer where he confessed to be working for the government after being confronted.
“Indeed, we received a letter in which Mr Michael Tsabedze was 'apologising’ for his stupid actions.However, I'd like to refer you to him for further commentary on his letter. As far as we are concerned, it's already a matter of public record that the Legal Team and our Clients were appalled by Mr Tsabedze’s unethical covert actions and that our Clients have reserved their right to pursue further legal action against him, in due course”, said the South African Correspondent Attorney representing the pro-democracy MPs.
An alleged confession letter signed by the spying lawyer.