Maravi

Time will prove us innocent

Time will prove us innocent
Written by Editor

We are ordinary citizens with a duty to obey the laws of our country. And at no time have we ever thought ourselves of being in any way above the law. But citizenship demands a contribution from us, as it does from every other citizen, to build our nation’s future.

This includes voting, fighting corruption, paying taxes, obeying the laws. And as citizens, we will contribute whatever little we have to the collective good of our country. It is said that what a single ant brings to the anthill is very little; but what a great hill is built when each one does a proper share of the work. And the right of all individuals and organisations and their practical implementation must be acknowledged, protected and fostered, together with the public duties binding all citizens.

Christians say that the law is an instrument of God’s self communication; it guides human beings to share in divine life through love. But we also know that this same law has been a subject of abuse. Whereas the rule of law requires the right to equality before the law, or equal protection of the law as it is often phrased, we know that this is not always so in our country.

We say this because there are circumstances in this country when those in power impose additional inequalities when the state should be required to deal evenly and equally with all its people.

We have no problem submitting ourselves to the law because we recognise that, however indirectly, we are submitting to ourselves as makers of the law. But we also recognise the fact that in every society throughout history, those who administer the criminal justice system hold the power with the potential for abuse and tyranny.

And on many occasions, we have been victims of this abuse and tyranny. In the name of the state, we have been arrested, we have been imprisoned unfairly and unjustly – even without any formal charges being brought. This was the case when the editor of this newspaper was detained at Lusaka Central Prison for one month without any formal charges, without any hearing or defence.

No civilised society can tolerate such abuses. As we have pointed out before, every state must have the power to maintain order and punish criminal acts, but it must do so in a fair and just way and not in an arbitrary manner or subject to political manipulation by those in power.

And that is why many people in this country are insisting that the independence of the judiciary is an essential pillar supporting the rule of law. It is not enough to say that the courts should follow and apply the laws faithfully and equally to all. One must, in addition, demand that there should be no dispensing power vested in the executive or other body which would relieve a person from the duties and processes of the law. For us, if we have committed a crime, we believe we should be made to meet the temerity of our actions like every other citizen.

There is hardly a more powerful weapon which can be abused in the hands of a corrupt regime than that of initiating or discontinuing prosecutions. It is notorious that successive regimes in this country have abused the prosecution process by harassing opponents of the regime through unjustifiable prosecutions, or by exempting their own supporters and friends from liability for illegal acts through discontinuance of prosecutions.

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 that a court can do. So the potential for abuse remains. And for us who are not in the business of selling widgets, for us who are trading in, or are engaged in the battle of, ideas this danger will always be lurking.

For us who are involved in exposing and denouncing abuses and corruption of the powerful, of those in control of government and the entire state machinery will always be targets or victims of such abuses. What they can’t do politically or otherwise against us, they will use their leverage on the courts to do against us. But we firmly believe that only through hardship, sacrifice and militant action can the liberties of our people be advanced and defended. And to borrow from Nelson Mandela, there is no easy walk to freedom, to justice, to fairness, to a more humane society and too many have suffered for the love of all these noble things.

For this reason, the pursuit of justice must be a fundamental norm of the state. And if criticism is valid, it must be made. And in so doing, we must follow the dictates of our conscience irrespective of the consequences that might overtake us for it. And it is said that there are few misfortunes in this world that one cannot turn into a personal triumph if one has the iron will and the necessary skill. The problems our country faces today are such that for anybody with a conscience and who can use whatever influence he or she has cannot but try to do something, it’s difficult to keep quiet.

Let it never be said by future generations that indifference, cynicism, selfishness, opportunism and even outright corruption made us fail to live up to the ideals of justice, of humanism that our people yearn for. Let’s fight a noble battle and live our lives in pursuit of a better life for all who will follow. Let the generations that will follow feel that the sweet fruit of their lives are as a result of the struggle and sacrifices we are making today just as we feel about what the independence struggle generation did for us.

Justice and even peace and tranquility are only possible if these are enjoyed by all without discrimination on the basis of political affiliation. Justice must be our tool, prosperity and happiness our weapon. We are ready and willing to learn from both pleasant and unpleasant experiences because it is in the character of growth that we do so.

And there can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for people and for institutions – be it the judiciary, the legislature, the executive, the church, the chieftaincy, the news media – that are part of public life. And for this reason, no such institution should expect to be free from the scrutiny of those who give it their loyalty and support, not to mention those who don’t.

However, we also know that in every society, there are men and women of base instincts. The sadists, brutes, conveyors of all the ancestral atavisms go about in the guise of human beings, but they are monsters, only more or less retrained by disciplined and social habit. And if they are offered a drink from the river of blood, they will not be satisfied until they drink the river dry. All these men needed was the order. At their hands, the best and noblest people perished: the most valiant, the most honest, the most idealistic. The tyrant called them criminals, law breakers. They were being harassed, humiliated, crucified at the hands of men who collect a salary from the taxpayer and later use their privileges to serve the interests of a clique and harass and humiliate the best citizens.

It is said that in the world, there must be a certain degree of honour just as there must be a certain amount of light. Where there are many men and women without honour, there are always others who bear in themselves the honour of many men and women. These are the men and women who rebel against injustice, against those who try to steal human honour itself. And in those men and women, thousands more are contained, an entire people is contained, human dignity is contained.

It is understandable that honest men should be in the dock for things like these in a country where the former president is a criminal, a thief, a lazo.

We know that they are very desperate to have the editor of this newspaper in prison, humiliated in all sorts of ways. But they should also know that fear of prison is something that has never tortured us, as we do not fear the fury of the miserable, corrupt tyrants who have stolen millions or billions from our people and country. And for this reason we confidently say: charge us, prosecute us, convict us if you want. It doesn’t matter. Time will prove us innocent.

Labels: CHANSA KABWELA, COURTS, FRED M'MEMBE, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 3:35 PM