Maravi

Fight on Jonas, Ben

Fight on Jonas, Ben
By Editor
Sunday August 26, 2007 [04:00]

It is true that in our country and throughout the Commonwealth, as far as we know, and in the jurisprudence of many civilised countries, a person is regarded as innocent until he is convicted. It is true that neither Katele Kalumba nor Michael Mabenga have been convicted of corruption and accordingly sent to prison or given some other sentence instead. What is being talked about here is not whether Katele or Mabenga have been found guilty or not.

The issue here is that their conduct has been found wanting. Mabenga’s conduct, as far as corruption is concerned, was found wanting by the High Court in Livingstone in an election petition brought against him by Sikota Wina and his election for the Mulobezi parliamentary seat was consequently nullified on that account. Mabenga appealed to the Supreme Court but the judgment of the High Court was upheld.

And the Supreme Court went on to recommend that Mabenga be arrested and prosecuted for corruption. In short, as far as corruption is concerned, the Supreme Court’s opinion was that Mabenga’s conduct fell short of what was expected of a Zambian politician or citizen. For some reason, those in power have not gone ahead to arrest Mabenga and prosecute him. What has instead happened is that the ruling MMD made him its chairman and sponsored him to go to Parliament.

As for Katele, the MMD government found him wanting and got him arrested for corruption. And today Katele shuttles between the MMD secretariat and the magistrate’s court where he is facing corruption charges. If he wasn’t given bail, today Katele would be running the MMD from Chimbokaila or Kamwala Remand Prison. All that he needs to do is to violate one of his bail conditions and he will go in. This is the man who wants to be the president of the Republic of Zambia.

In societies or organisations that don’t condone crime or wrongdoing, or indeed corruption, Katele would have been asked to resign his position as MMD national secretary. And surprisingly, Katele was elected to this position by the MMD members knowing very well that he was facing corruption charges in our courts of law. It seems the MMD government does not believe its own charges.

It is the MMD government that has found Katele wanting and that is today prosecuting him. The MMD’s position on corruption has been very contradictory. But this is very understandable, because this party had been corrupted to its core. And today some members are trying to change this.

This is how one can explain the battles going on between the likes of Jonas Shakafuswa and Ben Tetamashimba on the one hand and elements like Daniel Munkombwe on the other. Corruption always carries its own powerful lobby. There will always be the likes of Munkombwe defending people like Katele and Mabenga. And anyone who tries to fight corruption makes a host of inconvenient and perhaps dangerous enemies.

It gives us a lot of hope that there are now people in the MMD and its government like Jonas and Ben who are standing up to oppose and denounce corrupt elements. We are confident more people in the MMD will join them to oppose corruption and give their party a new reputation, a reputation that matches up with the pronouncements of their party president on corruption.
For Katele to be prosecuted, there is definitely a prima facie case against him. But we should always bear in mind that the burden of proof in corruption cases like other criminal charges is very high and even one who has flouted clear standards may get away with it, may be acquitted.

Certainly, such a person might have escaped conviction but may not be suitable for leadership positions that require very high levels of integrity and honesty. What we shouldn’t forget is that what our people are seeking is genuine democracy in which the leaders are honest servants of the electorate and not people who will steal or abuse public resources, the people’s funds. And good governance only occurs when we have honest leaders who see politics as a vocation to serve the people and not to enrich themselves at their expense. No one deserves to occupy public office unless they are honest; they are men and women of integrity.

We are aware that politics is an area of great importance for promoting justice, peace, development and community among all. This cannot be done with thieves in control of our politics and government. If politics is a vocation, a way of building up society for the common good, a country’s politics cannot be left in the hands of men or women with, or suspected to have, sticky fingers. Participation in political life should be guided by high values and only people who are known for their honesty and concern for the welfare of all deserve to occupy public office.

We invite all the members of the MMD to avoid supporting corrupt elements and condemn corruption whenever and wherever they see it. Corruption nearly destroyed their party and the social structures of our country. They have a duty to promote transparency, accountability and honesty in their party and in the nation in general. Corruption has drastic evil effects and it robs our nation of scarce resources.

The position taken by old Daniel Munkombwe is difficult to support. We don’t know whether it’s a question of every creature preferring its own kind just as animals of the same species flock together. It is dangerous to plough the ground to plant seeds of injustice, of theft and corruption. Those who do so may reap a bigger harvest than they expect. It is very unwise to commit any crime against the general public because one will be fought by many people.

We urge the MMD to continue on this line that is being courageously charted by Jonas and Ben. These two gentlemen are certainly not angels, but they are doing something that no angel would oppose and because of this they deserve the support not only of angels but of all of us with all our weaknesses and sins. One doesn’t need to be an angel to oppose corruption, to denounce wrongdoing.

If this was not the case no one on this earth would condemn or punish another person; there would be no jails because none of us is an angel to send another to prison. But what a world would we have without punishment of wrongdoers, without repudiation of wrongdoing?

Labels: BENNY TETAMASHIMBA, DANIEL MUNKOMBWE, EDITORIAL

posted by MrK @ 4:47 AM