When a fool starts an argument, he is asking for a beating

When a fool starts an argument, he is asking for a beating
By The Post
Mon 09 Aug. 2010, 04:00 CAT

Mike Mulongoti is a troubled, desperate and frightened little man. This is because of what he has done. The things Mike has done are making him scared of his own shadow. Mike knows very well what he has done and he is trying very hard to defend himself from being exposed by attacking innocent people.

As we have stated before, Mike has become one of the most ardent defenders of corruption and corrupt elements in this government. But we all know what type of person Mike is. Mike is a selfish person who never works for nothing; selfless assistance of others is not part of Mike’s life and character. Mike is a schemer who works for himself.

It is no surprise to us that Mike has served in two successive governments – that of Levy Mwanawasa and now this of Rupiah Banda – as a cabinet minister without being elected by anyone. Mike is simply a nominated fellow. But what special skills or constituencies does Mike possess that make him so valuable to every president? Those close to Levy will recall that he once told him off and ordered him to stop following him like a tick. This was because Mike was trying to be very close to Levy everywhere in order to get a job from him.

Mike has managed to do the same with Rupiah. But those around Rupiah are now starting to see Mike for what he is and are increasingly becoming uncomfortable with him because he has no loyalty to anybody other than himself; they have realised that he is not serving Rupiah but himself, and can easily turn into a Judas Iscariot.

Today, Mike is in the forefront defending Chiluba and his corruption, not because he loves Chiluba but simply because it is politically beneficial for him to do so. We say this because Chiluba is being defended by Rupiah, the man at whose discretion Mike is in government and in Parliament. If Rupiah turns against Chiluba today, Mike will not hesitate to do the same.

This is the same Mike that used to attack Chiluba for corruption when his master Levy was doing so. We have no doubt that if someone else became president tomorrow and goes for Rupiah, Mike will not hesitate to turn against Rupiah if it will be expedient for him to do so. Clearly, this is not a man of principles. Mike, at all times, operates on expedience and selfishness. So his defence of Chiluba and his attacks on us don’t bother us because they are coming from a man without principles, a chameleon.

The other issue is that Mike is defending corruption today because one way or another he himself is involved in decisions and actions that may tomorrow land him in a similar position – corruption and abuse of office. As we have stated before, Mike is living beyond his earned income. And this is in itself a prima facie case of corruption. Fellow ministers and others in the MMD are talking about Mike, they are raising concerns about his dealings with road contractors and others connected to public works contracts. Mike is sitting on a time bomb – hence the discomfort and the shiftiness.

His bottom is getting hot. It’s just a matter of time, and it won’t be long before the Zambian people know fully why Mike is today defending corruption and the corrupt, Chiluba and his tandem of thieves. It is said that one's position and character can be determined by looking at the type of people who are defending him or cheering him on. And moreover, what is there to defend about Chiluba’s corruption?

The London High Court judgment is there to show clearly how corrupt, selfish, heartless, insensitive and reckless Chiluba was. Only a dishonest person can deny or attempt to ignore the findings in that case. Chiluba is a thief and no propaganda from Mike or anyone else will clear that away.

And if Mike and his likes are the only people you have to defend you, then you have a serious problem. And it is said that “every creature prefers its own kind, and people are no different. Just as animals of the same species flock together, so people keep company with people like themselves.

A sinner has no more in common with a devout person than a wolf has with a lamb. A rich man has no more in common with a poor man than a hyena has with a dog. The rich hunt down the poor just as lions hunt down wild donkeys in the open country. Arrogant people have nothing but scorn for the humble, and the rich think of the poor in the same way.

When a rich man stumbles, his friends will steady him, but if a poor man falls his friends will have nothing to do with him. When a rich man makes a mistake, there are many people to cover up for him and explain away all the things he never should have said. But let a poor man make a mistake, and he gets nothing but criticism. Even if what he says makes good sense, nobody will listen. When a rich man speaks, everyone is silent, and they praise him to the skies for what he says. But let a poor man speak, and everybody says, ‘Who is that?’

They push him down if he so much as stumbles. There is nothing wrong with being rich if you haven’t sinned to get that way. But there is nothing sinful about being poor, either. Only the ungodly think so. It’s what is in your heart that makes the expression on your face happy or sad. If you feel cheerful, you will look cheerful, although making up proverbs calls for some intense thought” (Sirach 13:15-26). And “if a person never says anything carelessly, he is to be congratulated; he doesn’t need to feel guilty. If a person has a clear conscience and never gives up hope, he is certainly to be congratulated!” (Sirach 14:1-2).

Clearly, Mike is not defending Chiluba but himself. And he is not attacking us on behalf of Chiluba. He is going for us on his own behalf because of what we have been writing about him. Mike knows very well that its just a matter of time and his game will be over, the truth will be known about what he has been doing and where the money he is boasting about is coming from; the source of money for those many and expensive automobiles he has bought is coming from.

And Mike knows very well that we will soon write about all these things. What he is simply trying to do is to discredit us ahead of this so that when the story about him is told, people should doubt our honesty and sincerity. But it won’t work because “if you do no wrong, no wrong will ever come to you. Do not plough the ground to plant seeds of injustice; you may reap a bigger harvest than you expect” (Sirach 7:1).

Mike’s attacks on us and his defence of Chiluba is a desperate act that doesn’t bother us at all. We are not like him who allows himself to be dominated, to be a servant, a puppet of those with money and who give government jobs – “don’t allow yourself to be dominated by someone who is stupid or show partiality to influential people. Stand up for what is right, even if it costs you your life; the Lord will be fighting on your side” (Sirach 4:27-28).

Mike says the MMD government has many political enemies, which includes non-governmental organisations, the opposition and donors. For Mike, anyone who raises corruption issues becomes an enemy, a target of his attacks. One must belong to them and support or ignore their corrupt activities or be condemned. They are not ashamed to attribute enmity where it may not exist. Criticism of, or disagreement with, what they are doing per se is non-existent. To them, criticism or disagreement is an expression of hate.

Mike goes on to accuse the donors of withholding aid in aid of regime change. Mike wants donors to continue pouring money into government coffers and letting them steal it without regard to accountability. Mike has no respect for public funds. If he did, he wouldn’t be doing what he is doing and saying what he is saying. Things may be that easy when it comes to abuse of public funds in Zambia.

But in other countries, levels of accountability are much higher and people pay a lot of attention to how taxpayers' money is used. Politicians and other government officials from the countries that are giving us aid are under increasing pressure to account and show the results for the money they have been giving us. Recently, the director general of SIDA was fired over our abuses of the money they were giving us.

He didn’t steal a single cent but was simply fired for failing to make us account for what we are given. But to Mike, this means nothing – aid money should just pour in uninterrupted whether it’s being stolen or not. Mike claims that donors have a tendency to withhold aid when elections are near. This may be true. But why?

Probably it's because our propensity for corruption, for abuse of aid money is much higher when elections are near. This may be because those in government try to misdirect and misapply such funds to their election campaigns. We may also have politicians and others who try to pension themselves off in fear of them not coming back after the elections. And probably this is what has been happening with aid money meant for our road sector under Mike’s ministry.

But Mike should know very well that “condemning the innocent or letting the wicked go – both are hateful to the Lord” (Proverbs 17:15). And “it is not right to favour the guilty and keep the innocent from receiving justice” (Proverbs 18:5).

For Mike, our humble advice is that he should be careful and think through everything before he opens his mouth, and “anyone who thinks and speaks evil can expect to find nothing good – only disaster” (Proverbs 17:20). It is said that “an intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions” (Proverbs 17:24). And “when some fool starts an argument, he is asking for a beating. When a fool speaks, he is ruining himself; he gets caught in the trap of his own words” (Proverbs 18:6-7). This is the web of deceit Mike has weaved for himself and will soon be caught in it with no possibility of escape.