Maravi

Chiluba's hour is nearing

Chiluba's hour is nearing
By Editor
Tuesday June 05, 2007 [04:00]

Nothing that comes from theft will last. Wealth that has been obtained dishonestly is like a stream that runs full during a thunderstorm, tumbling rocks along as it flows, but then suddenly goes dry. Acts of honesty are as lasting as eternity. It won't be long before Frederick Chiluba realises that it doesn't pay to rely on dishonest wealth; it will do him no good on that day of disaster when the London High Court judgment starts to be enforced.

Chiluba thought stealing as much public funds as possible would make him the most powerful man in this country and would enable him to rule this country directly and indirectly until he dies. What he forgot was that not all Zambians would allow themselves to be dominated by a thief. Even Levy Mwanawasa whom he crookedly made to succeed him refused to be dominated by his sponsor-thief, mentor-thief.

It won't matter whether or not on June 8, Chiluba stays away from the proceedings of the London High Court trying to adjust the judgment sum. After all, his withdrawal from the proceedings in the first place did not affect the final judgment of this court in any way. He was still found to have defrauded the government of the Republic of Zambia of US $41 million.

And this judgment, whether Chiluba accepts it or not, will be enforced.
We advise Chiluba to start looking for a house because even the property - 12 B Serval Road, Kabulonga, Lusaka - he is staying in will soon be seized and given back to Caesar. We know this is a hard pill to swallow but it's just a matter of time before it happens and the earlier he accepts the better because this house was bought using money stolen from public coffers.

Chiluba will have no hiding place because even the houses that he got for his then girlfriend Mrs Regina Mwanza - now his wife - are also subjects of litigation. And it's just a matter of time before these are totally lost to the people, to the state. Even the house the government is trying to build him may also be seized before it's completed. Anyway, having no house may not be such a big problem for Chiluba - at least for now - because prison will soon be his residence. There are many things Chiluba needs to be prosecuted for and we have no doubt that at least on one of these things a conviction will be secured.

And Chiluba cannot today continue to cry that we are trying him in the media. There's a court judgment that will this week be registered in our High Court - making it effectively a judgment of this court and enforceable by it. The media didn't sit in the London High Court. Yes, we were called in to be witnesses and we gladly accepted and helped to prove to this court that this man and his friends defrauded the Government of the Republic of Zambia, stole from our people.

We are extremely happy that the London High Court found Chiluba to be a thief because this is what we have always believed him to be. We have no doubt that the London High Court judgment was very correct - Chiluba is a thief. And this is a matter that we had proved beyond any reasonable doubt even before proceedings were commenced in the London High Court and elsewhere against Chiluba. We are not trying to rub salt in Chiluba’s wounds.

We are not in any way being cruel or unkind to him. Nobody should feel sorry for a thief when he gets caught and what he stole is taken away from him and given back to the owners. No one should feel sorry for a thief when he is arrested, prosecuted, convicted and jailed. We say this because nobody feels sorry for a snake charmer who gets bitten, no one should feel sorry for you when you run around stealing people's money, abusing it and using it to buy all sorts of designer clothes which you don't even need.

A person who can do what Chiluba did is a very stupid person, a very silly individual, a very foolish politician who deserves no respect or mercy from anyone. What Chiluba did cannot be tolerated even in a nation where corruption is fully institutionalised; what Chiluba did could still be found to be unacceptable even in Mobutu's Zaire. In countries like China where there's zero tolerance of corruption Chiluba would be executed.

We therefore urge the state to fully execute the London High Court judgment against Chiluba. Everything that can be judiciously taken away from him to fulfill the judgment sum should not be left with him. If this is not enough,, there should be no hesitation to declare him bankrupt.

Let him go to jail a bankrupt man with a bankrupt mind. What Chiluba did to this country can only come from a mind that is bankrupt, that is devoid of any sense of justice. It's difficult to understand how a rat of this type could preside over the affairs of our country for ten years and even attempt to go for another five years, a third term. Chiluba's presidency is the greatest insult this nation has ever been subjected to.

We urge the authorities to make the enforcement of this judgment public; let Zambians see what he stole and how it's being repossessed or paid back. Never again should this country allow a Chiluba to emerge in any form in our politics. This calls for vigilance. We have to be ever vigilant against the Chiluba tendencies. Chiluba first started with manipulating by-elections, then he moved on to manipulating the 1996 constitution-review process and from there on he moved to stealing public funds. Let's watch this trend carefully and ensure that it is never repeated by anyone.

As for those who are defending Chiluba, we can only say every creature prefers its own kind, and people are no different. Just as animals of the same species flock together, so people keep company with people like themselves. A thief has no more in common with an honest person than a wolf has with a lamb. A corrupt person has no more in common with an incorruptible person than a hyena has with a dog.

Labels: CHILUBA, EDITORIAL

posted by MrK @ 4:11 AM