Judge scathing of lawyer’s scurrilous attack on court
Publish date: 09 June 2025
Issue Number: 1129
Diary: IBA Legalbrief Africa
Category: Practice
Legal circles in eSwatini have been riveted by the scorching dispute between a High Court judge, Titus Mlangeni, and the president of the Law Society of eSwatini, Mangaliso Magagula. The attorney, an often contentious figure given his litigation strategies, has been convicted of contempt of court by the judge and, at the end of last week, was sentenced to 120 days’ imprisonment. Only some of this could be dealt with through payment of a fine, however. The judge stipulated that, if Magagula wished, 100 days of this term could be mitigated by paying a fine of E100 000 (about $5 600). The remainder of the time to which Magagula has been sentenced – 20 days – must, however, be spent in prison. In her A Matter of Justice column on the Legalbrief site, Carmel Rickard looks at the judgment convicting Magagula of contempt.
