Maravi

Let's be far-sighted

CLet's be far-sighted
By lindiwe_b
Sunday May 13, 2007 [04:00]

CHURCH leaders like Council of Churches in Zambia (CCZ) board chairperson Reverend Moses Mwale and Luapula Anglican Bishop Robert Mumbi bring a lot of pride and dignity to the Christian church. This is much more so at a time when we have some pastors, reverends or priests who are more than willing to hire themselves to thieves, defend and pray for criminals and their crimes. It is this type of spiritual leaders that historically opened religion to all sorts of unnecessary attacks and criticisms.

It is this type of behaviour that made some people to start asserting that religion is a mechanism for the alienation of man, which serves to justify abuses. Undoubtedly, this affirmation is of historic value, to the extent to which, in different historical eras, religion has served as a theoretical prop for political and other abuses, injustices and outright banditry.

However, our experience shows that when Christians like Rev Mwale and Bishop Mumbi, relying on their faith, can respond to the needs of the people and history, their beliefs stimulate a progressive spirit in them and in some cases a revolutionary militancy. Our experience shows that a person can be both a spiritual leader and, at the same time, a consistent fighter against all forms of injustices and abuses and that there is no insurmountable contradiction between the two.

Nobody can be more earnestly in favour of the Church's taking a correct position on the most serious social problems of our times. Nobody wants to hear again that the Church had sided with thieves, pirates, plunderers and abusers of our people. No theology, religion or Church can justify Frederick Chiluba's theft and abuse of our people's resources. We know there are some Christians who genuinely believe that every crime committed should be forgiven; they don't want to hear of anyone being punished for any wrongdoing.

They think punishment is hatred or cruelty against another human being. In the same vein, they think punishing Chiluba for his thefts or making him to account for what he has stolen is hatred. As we have stated before, we don't and have never preached hatred against any human being as a philosophy, the philosophy of hatred. This doesn't mean that we have any friendly feelings for theft, abuse or any criminal behaviour towards the people or that we haven't struggled as hard as we can against such thefts or abuses.

But we think we have one supreme test, which is that we waged a battle against theft and abuse of public resources; we have suffered from all kinds of acts of harassment and wrongs from the corrupt, thieves and bandits of all hues. Yet when these criminals are unfairly treated we have never hesitated to come to their defence, because we don't hate them. What we hate and repudiate is their crimes; their thefts and abuses.

There are some of our friends who say Chiluba should not be punished and nothing should be recovered from him until all others before and after him have been investigated, tried, and if found guilty, treated in the same manner. This is interesting logic and we wonder what would happen to this nation if this was extended to all citizens who have committed crimes in this country - our police stations and prisons would close. And crime would go totally unchecked.

In truth, the country can't do this when every day efforts are being made by all sorts of crooks to steal public funds. We can't, as a nation renounce the application of severe penalties for cases in which serious crimes, injustices and abuses are committed against our people - especially in a situation where some people have come to believe they can get away with any crime as long as they politicise it and facilitate a change of government to a more favourable one.

Our basic sense of duty to our people, to our fellow citizens - men, women and children who could be victims of such thefts of public funds - makes it impossible for us to accept such arguments, such attitude or to cede to the concerns even of our friends calling for Chiluba to be let scott-free.

What justification could Levy Mwanawasa and his government have for granting such pardons to people who have been found, as a matter of fact, to have stolen public funds? If the government did so, what would be achieved? It would promote and sanction the stealing of public funds and other abuses and no one would fear to deep their fingers in public coffers. And what would our leaders, political, religious or otherwise say to our people in the coming years when such abuses totally got out of control?

We should not be swayed by arguments or considerations that have nothing to do with protecting our people's very limited resources and consequently their lives. Individuals who steal from our people, who abuse public resources and commit such crimes against innocent people shouldn't think that, when they do such things, they will get away with it, they will be forgiven and left alone to enjoy their loot. This would be a weakness on the part of government and a failure to do its duty.

We therefore support calls for the Attorney General to quickly take all the necessary measures needed to enforce the London High Court judgment against Chiluba. And no stones should be left unturned in the enforcement of this judgment.

And Chiluba and his supporters should not cheat themselves that this is an academic judgment whose enforcement can be decided by them. This judgment will be enforced because, in the first place, the Attorney General went to the London High Court for this very reason - to get a judgment that will not be academic, that will be easy to enforce the world-over. And this has been achieved.

And as Rev Mwale has correctly observed this judgment should serve as an example and a warning to all our future leaders, including Levy himself. We can only move forward as a nation if public resources are treated with respect by all of us, and especially by our leaders. At no time and in no circumstances should a political leader place his personal interests first; he should subordinate them to the interests of the nation and of the masses.

Hence, selfishness, slacking, corruption, abuses and so on, should be most contemptible, while selflessness, working with all one's energy, whole-hearted devotion to public duty should command respect. Our people must be ready at all times to stand up for the truth because truth is in the interest of the people; our leaders must be ready at all times to correct their mistakes, because mistakes are against the interests of the people.

We must always go into the whys and wherefores of anything, use our own heads and carefully think over whether or not it corresponds to reality and is really well-founded; on no account should we follow blindly and encourage slavishness. Our leaders, political, religious or otherwise should set an example in being far-sighted because only far-sightedness can prevent them from losing their bearings in the march forward.

Labels: CCZ, CHILUBA, EDITORIAL

posted by MrK @ 9:04 AM