Maravi

Rupiah and the police

Rupiah and the police
Written by Editor

The integrity of our country’s judicial process is under serious threat. It is becoming habitual for Rupiah Banda to issue instructions to the police and other law enforcement agencies to pursue certain individuals who he believes have done something wrong. And it is Rupiah himself who frames the charges, broadcasts them to the whole nation, tries and convicts those he has accused and then at the end of it, instructs the police to formally arrest and prosecute them.

Rupiah did this with us over the issue of Zambian Airways by accusing us that we have pocketed US $30 million from state institutions and with that money we have built mansions, bought strange vehicles and we own aeroplanes. He told the nation that he will ensure that this money is recovered from us.

Shortly after that, the police were on us taking warn and caution statements about stealing US $1.7 million from National Airports Corporation as agents of that parastatal. The charge was clearly ridiculous to any thinking person. And the police are still stuck with what to do. They have gone round the world looking for evidence of the US $30 million Rupiah claimed we had stolen but their investigations have yielded nothing.

Of course it benefits those involved in this exercise to continue pretending they are making progress in their investigations of our theft of US $30 million. There are allowances to be earned. And as long as this continues to be so, their posturing will continue. There is also the lack of professional and moral integrity on the part of those involved in this exercise to tell Rupiah and the nation the truth that their investigations have yielded nothing. There is no wrong that we have done that they have found. This they will not be able to do as long as Rupiah is President because there are political ramifications in doing so. To save themselves embarrassment, they will have no choice but to arrest us and take us to court regardless of how ridiculous the charges may be. For them, arresting us and taking us to court will be enough accomplishment even if at the end of it the case is lost in the most embarrassing circumstances. This is what they will do. Given their narrow-mindedness, they will not be able to act otherwise.

Again, a similar thing happened last week. Rupiah accused us at his press conference of distributing pornographic pictures of a woman in labour. Rupiah asked the police to arrest and prosecute us. And accordingly, today, our news editor Chansa Kabwela has been summoned to the police in connection with a letter and some pictures she sent to Vice-President George Kunda and copied to Secretary to the Cabinet, Minister of Health, NGOCC, Women for Change and the Archbishop of Lusaka. The letter read as follows: “I am writing to bring to your attention images that we have difficulties publishing in our newspaper on the very desperate situation at our hospitals arising from the ongoing strike. I am doing this in the hope that these pictures will move you and your colleagues to take quick action and bring to an end this strike. Enclosed are very disturbing pictures from the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka that have been brought to our newsroom. Yours faithfully, Chansa Kabwela, news editor and chairperson of the Press Freedom Committee of The Post…”

These are the contents of the letter that accompanied the pictures. We know it’s difficult for our readers to imagine what these pictures were, but the most important issue here is the intention. And the laws of our country as far as obscene matters or things are concerned are anchored on intention to corrupt public morals. Can any sensible person say the intention of this letter and the pictures was to corrupt public morals? Probably only Rupiah can say so.

We know the police have had difficulties coming up with such a charge against Chansa because it’s not there. After running into problems, they have tried to reframe the charge and accuse her of money laundering, claiming she was paid money by someone somewhere to circulate those pictures. They even went round checking Chansa’s accounts for any movements of money. But they have found nothing that resembles money laundering or her receiving any money from anyone for such a silly thing.

We don’t know from which statute book Rupiah framed his charge of pornography against us. It is again a case of being drunk with power. Now the man thinks he is everything – he is the arresting officer, the prosecutor and the judge. It is very clear that where The Post is concerned, Rupiah does not reason. His capacity to reason has become seriously impaired. And if he continues to act in this manner towards us, he will soon commit an atrocity that he will live to regret for the rest of his life. We have always advised him that the exercise of power must be a constant practice of self-limitation and modesty. And this should be much more so towards people like us, people he most detests. We know Rupiah hates us with a passion. That doesn’t bother us. But he has no right whatsoever to treat us in a discriminatory manner. We say this because the right of equality before the law is fundamental to any just society. Whether political ally of Rupiah or opponent – all are entitled to equal protection before the law. But it’s very clear now to all that Rupiah is abusing our country’s judicial process to harass us. We are not being treated like other citizens or institutions. We are not asking to be put above the law. But under no circumstances should Rupiah impose additional inequalities against us. State institutions should deal evenly and equally with all citizens.

As we have stated before, in every society throughout history, those who administer the criminal justice system hold the power with the potential for abuse and tyranny. In the name of law and order, innocent citizens have been harassed and mutilated. No decent society can tolerate such abuses. Nobody can deny that the police and other law enforcement agencies are being manipulated by Rupiah for political ends. The integrity of our judicial process is central to the administration of fair and equal justice in our country. And without checking this, our claims of having an independent judiciary will be nothing but empty rhetoric. It is what Rupiah is doing to the judicial process that is critical and important to the practical ways in which such independence can be guaranteed, or at least promoted, in the day to day administration of justice. There is hardly a more powerful weapon which can be abused in the hands of a corrupt regime than that of initiating unjustified prosecutions against political opponents. Again, the judiciary at whatever level may find itself confronting these abuses, and may find itself subjected to enormous pressures to accept them. Often, if the process is legal but unfair, there is little a court can do.

We would be glad if this matter goes to court so that we can show Rupiah and those poor souls that have prostituted themselves with him what constitutes pornography. The pictures were not pleasant for us to publish them in our newspaper and that’s why we didn’t publish them. But it was not because they are pornographic. Again, the law is different from emotions of people regardless of how well meaning they may be. The entire editorial management of The Post takes full responsibility for this matter. It is not a Chansa matter.

And the buck stops at the editor in chief of The Post. We therefore ask the police to pursue the editor-in-chief of The Post and not the newspaper’s news editor. We hope this time round, the police will have enough courage to take this matter to court so that we show Rupiah and those that are prostituting themselves with him what constitutes pornography under our laws.

Labels: RUPIAH BANDA

posted by MrK @ 3:37 PM