Maravi

Save yourself embarrassment

Save yourself embarrassment
By Editor
Tue 17 Nov. 2009, 04:01 CAT

It is always better to admit when you are wrong. We say this because when one admits that they are wrong, it gives them an opportunity to correct their position. It is not possible for one to be wrong and be right at the same time. Refusing or attempting to conceal one’s wrong can only lead to one ending: embarrassment.

We say this in the light of an attempt to deny or conceal being wrong on the part of Rupiah Banda and his minions. Rupiah made public statements in Chipata and Solwezi about why he refused to appeal against Frederick Chiluba’s acquittal. We are not the only newspaper that carried this story. The state-owned and government-controlled Daily Mail has continued to carry the story. They published on Saturday and repeated their understanding of Rupiah’s statement in their edition of yesterday.

Before anyone accuses us of misquoting them, on Saturday they stated that: “President Banda has revealed that he refused to appeal against the acquittal of former president Chiluba because the lawyers who were prosecuting the matter were merely doing it for business. Mr Banda said US $13 million in taxpayers’ money was spent over a period of seven years in paying lawyers who were prosecuting Dr Chiluba. ‘They alleged that Dr Chiluba had stolen US $500,000 and government spent US $13 million on allowances and costs to prosecute him over a period of seven years. They kept assuring us that he was going to prison but they were doing it purely for business.’”

This line was repeated by the Daily Mail yesterday. According to them, “on Friday, President Banda revealed that he refused to appeal against Dr Chiluba’s acquittal because the lawyers who were prosecuting the matter were merely doing it for business”.

Today we are being accused of distorting Rupiah’s statement. However, the truth is it is not us but Rupiah’s minions, including those controlling the state-owned and government-controlled media, who are distorting facts. Today the nation is being told by these liars that Rupiah didn’t say that the US $13 million was paid to Mutembo Nchito but to many lawyers, especially foreign lawyers.

This is not true. And facts are there to prove that these people are lying. It is a fact that Rupiah said US $13 million of taxpayers’ money was paid to lawyers to prosecute Chiluba for stealing US $500,000. It is a fact that cannot be disputed that Chiluba was only prosecuted by Mutembo Nchito for stealing US $500,000. There is no other lawyer who was prosecuting or who prosecuted Chiluba for stealing US $500,000. Secondly, there is no other lawyer who was prosecuting Chiluba on any other criminal charge other than Mutembo.

It is also a fact that Rupiah gave the payment of US $13 million to the lawyers as a reason for refusing to appeal Chiluba’s acquittal. No one who heard or read what Rupiah said in all the newspapers or listened to him on radio or television can fail to agree with us that this is what Rupiah said. Rupiah was lying and his lie has been exposed not only by ourselves but also by Maxwell Nkole who was chairman of the Task Force. And now Rupiah and his minions know that they have been caught lying yet again, trying to discredit an innocent and honest lawyer – Mutembo.

And now that they know that there is no honest way they can explain away their lie, they have resorted to more lies trying to discredit those who expose them as liars. But how else can these liars explain their complicity in letting Chiluba go scot-free without having to lie, without attempting to discredit innocent and honest people? They can’t do without lies, they can’t live without deceit, manipulation and calumny.

It is clear that Rupiah set out to lie and mislead the people in his attempt to defend the indefensible. This is the problem that needs to be understood. Although Rupiah is an old man who by that reason alone should deserve some respect, he is a liar. And liars have never deserved the respect of anyone anywhere. When we catch him lying and expose him as such, we are accused of insulting him. When a thief is found stealing, what is he supposed to be called? What about a liar when he is found lying, what should he be called? We call Rupiah a liar because he is in the habit of telling lies, he is a habitual liar who tells lies even when there is absolutely no need to do so. Rupiah seems to be a pathological liar.

When he lied about paying the lawyers who were prosecuting Chiluba US $13 million, he must have known he was going to be caught, but he lied anyway. What kind of president is this? What kind of senior citizen is this? What kind of father and grandfather is this? What kind of human being is Rupiah?

Rupiah has more problems than he can probably deal with. He has surrounded himself with minions who will tell him lies to satisfy his ego even when those lies are ridiculous. How else do you explain the attempted justifications in the state media? They published what Rupiah said and yet they want to change our memories two days later. We were not the first to publish Rupiah’s comments on the payments to the prosecutors of Chiluba’s corruption case. It is clear that Rupiah said he did not allow the appeal because the lawyers had been paid US $13 million which could be used to build schools and clinics and it would not be logical for him to pay another US $13 million to the same selfish lawyers who wanted to appeal his acquittal. Who are the same selfish lawyers who were trying to appeal Chiluba’s acquittal who were going to get another US $13 million Rupiah was talking about?

It is clear that Rupiah was talking about Mutembo, hoping that no one would challenge him because the lawyer himself may not be in a position to do so. This is what liars do; they tell lies about people and use those lies to justify their attacks on those innocent people. This is what Rupiah was doing. Rupiah’s minions would have done better to shut up than attempt to rewrite such recent history.
Today, Todd Chilembo – no doubt instructed by George Kunda – is telling the nation that Rupiah meant all the lawyers, both local and foreign. But they forget a very simple fact; Rupiah was very clear. He was not talking about lawyers in the UK or lawyers who prosecuted this or that case. Rupiah was talking about the lawyers who prosecuted Chiluba’s case of US $500,000 theft. And there is only one lawyer in this country and indeed in this whole world who prosecuted Chiluba for stealing US $500,000. And that lawyer is Mutembo.

Rupiah did not stop at just accusing Mutembo of being paid US $13 million; he accused him of lying to him about when Chiluba would be going to prison. Which UK lawyer was prosecuting Chiluba to go to prison? It would be better to just admit that they have been caught lying, or better still just shut up.

Rupiah and his minions know very well that the UK lawyers who were working for the Task Force provided many services to the government. We have reported on these matters and indeed George was Attorney General when these matters were going on. Why do they want to lie and mislead the public? We are aware that the Task Force dealt with the now famous vulture fund case involving a company called Donegal. How much were the lawyers paid for this?

We also know that Chiluba and his tandem of thieves left us the Kwachamania mess where the state was sued for a US $150 million which the Task Force successfully defended. How much were the UK lawyers paid for this?

The UK lawyers also had the civil case against Chiluba and other defendants. They won that case and the state was awarded a judgment of US $55 million against Chiluba.

We know that Rupiah and his minions don’t want to enforce this judgment against Chiluba and recover US $55 million from him for the Zambian people. And this is why they are today bombarding the Zambian people with lies and half-truths of US $13 million of taxpayers’ money being paid to one prosecutor to send Chiluba to prison for stealing US $500,000. These are the same people who were eager to deceive the Zambian people that their government owed Chiluba US $8 million that he had put in the Zamtrop account. Even if this was true, which we know is not, still more a recovery of US $55 million from Chiluba would more than compensate the Zambian people for a loss of US $13 million in fees to lawyers and US $8 million in refund to Chiluba. But we also know, and Rupiah and his minions also know very well, that these legal fees they are talking about were not paid by the Zambian taxpayer alone. Not less than US $10 million of that US $13 million they are talking about came from donors. So what are they talking about? Why do they want to distort facts? Why all these lies and malicious insinuations? It is simply to conceal their iniquities in this whole issue.

We will continue to say that no monetary value can be put on law and order and good governance. This is however not ignoring the fact that in this particular case, in this pursuit of Chiluba and his tandem of thieves, a profit has been made. The government claims to have spent US $13 million but the recoveries are far more than that. In the Chiluba case alone, US $55 million should be recovered if Rupiah and his minions will be fair enough to the Zambian people to enforce the London High Court judgment – which we doubt they will, given their criminal collusion with Chiluba to allow him to go scot-free.

It seems George and his friends would have been happier to pay the Kwachamania syndicate, US $150 million than to pay competent UK lawyers far much less in legal fees. And these are the same people who have been ready to pay RP Capital US $2 million over a very short period, over a few weeks of sightseeing Zamtel – not seven years. Anyway, this is how crooks, liars operate. They are never logical or consistent.

Labels: CHANSA KABWELA, COURTS, RUPIAH BANDA, THE POST

posted by MrK @ 10:54 PM