Maravi

Jailing Chiluba would have been costly – Mulongoti

Jailing Chiluba would have been costly – Mulongoti
Written by Bivan Saluseki in Mungwi
Monday, September 21, 2009 4:56:40 PM

WORKS and supply minister Mike Mulongoti has said it would have been costly to jail former president Frederick Chiluba. Featuring on Kasama's Radio Mano last Thursday, Mulongoti said some people should be able to go to jail while others remain.
Mulongoti said this after the presenter asked him on The Post editorials on corruption and Chiluba. Mulongoti said not everyone hates Chiluba.

"Mr Chileshe, you can jail the whole country. How many are you going to jail? There are times when you consider the general harmony of the country. In Chiluba's acquittal, when [PF leader Michael] Sata was acquitted over his case, did the government appeal?" he asked.

Mulongoti said Sata should tell the nation if the government appealed in his case.

"We consider the general harmony in the country. Even courts are sensitive to the political situation in the country. You cannot just say, jail everyone.No, there is forgiviness, there is reconciliation. Everything is there. So Chiluba, whether we like it or not, he was president of Zambia. Not everyone hates Chiluba. There are wrong things he did, there are also good things he did," he said.

Mulongoti wondered if those Chiluba sold houses to at K10,000 hated him.

"What about those he gave favours as President? He also has a big following. If the court says 'acquit this person', we have to follow," he said.

Mulongoti said the court heard that the same account where there was government money, there was also money which Chiluba said was his.

"If we jail this person who has money in the same account as government, what will be the implications? That is the argument the magistrate had which sounded very logical. At the end of the day, there are two sides. There is the legal side and the political side," he said.

"Is the release of Mr Chiluba bringing relief to the country? Is there happiness in some quarters? Is there harmony at the political level? That is the other side. If you see that you won't win the case, there is no point pursuing it because you are just wasting taxpayers’ money. In any case if Chiluba was jailed, would he have gone to Mukobeko [Maximum Prison]? No, government would have had to look for another house which would have been gazetted as a prison and now put extra security and service that house befitting a former head of state. Already the government is spending money maintaining him as a former president. Surely the people of Zambia must be saved agony over that."

Mulongoti said for the seven years he had appeared in court, Chiluba was like a man saving in prison already.

He said Chiluba was never free to go anywhere and had no passport.

"Those criticising government just like themselves," he said. "For instance, there is a case of our editor at The Post. I don't think the wish of the people is that they must see her incarcerated. The wish is that a mistake has been made, it must be corrected in one way or another. I am just speaking here as a citizen like any other citizen. I do not think incarceration is the ultimate solution to anything in life. We must be able to accept that 'bamo kuti baya ku jail, bamo ba shala [translated - some can go to jail while others remain]'."

He said The Post should not pretend to dig deeper and in the process claim to protect the country.

Mulongoti said it was just business.

"As far as I am concerned, ba Post ukulemba kwabo, limo baba no kutitikisha. Uuwile tabamuseka. It's not fair that every time mulelemba pali chimo chine fye. Twalishiba ati nabo ni business emo balila. Not ukuchita pretend kwati bali temwa ichalo ukuchila ifwe banabo, awe, kalilo kalya [translated - The Post, in its writing, is sometimes suppresive. When someone falls you cannot continue to hit him. It is not fair to write about the same thing consistently. We know that theirs is a business from which they benefit. Don't pretend to love the country more than we their colleagues do, no. That is a source of livelihood]," he said.

He said when writing The Post should be mindful of the consequences of their writing. On the violence by cadres, Mulongoti said the party did not condone that. However, he cautioned journalists against writing things which hurt other people.

"But I also want to appeal to journalists to avoid insults," he said. "Journalists should be moderate. We must go back to the basics so that people consider attitudes. Elders are elders."

On former finance minister Ng'andu Magande, Mulongoti said the party did not even know where he came from.

"We don't even know where he came from. We just saw him come and become minister of finance. We don't even know whether he was from UNIP or UPND. Now today he wants to take over MMD, how about us who have been in the party for too long? We don't know where he came from. How about those that have been in the party?" he asked.

Mulongoti said the party has had volunteers for years and it was not just about springing from somewhere.

"These are politics. There are a lot of issues to consider," he said.

Mulongoti said the MMD needed about K6 billion to hold the convention.

"And we have debts close to that amount," he said.

On former defence minister George Mpombo, Mulongoti said he took Mpombo to the MMD in 2006.

"In 2006, late chief Chiwala even rejected him. Mpombo when linked to the family tree, he even claimed he was from Luapula," he said.

Mulongoti said late president Levy Mwanawasa instructed him to go and beg with chief Chiwala so that Mpombo could be allowed to stand as a member of parliament.

On Sata's statement that MMD had nothing for chiefs, Mulongoti said chiefs were still getting their vehicles.

"Most chiefs have vehicles and electricity and water. What else can government do? There is no chief who can claim that government has not done anything. Even when we visit we take presents. There is even a House of Chiefs," he said.

Mulongoti justified the picking of Burton Mugala to stand as a candidate in Kasama despite being the third choice.

Mulongoti said the first choice was still a civil servant while the second one had been in government and there were some issues over him.

Labels: CHILUBA, MIKE MULONGOTI, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 3:57 PM