Judiciary is being used, says Kalala

Judiciary is being used, says Kalala
By George Chellah
Tue 18 Jan. 2011, 10:45 CAT

THE Judiciary is being used and should not take people for granted, says Jack Kalala. And Kalala advised the Judiciary not to use court privileges to frustrate free expression in the country and defend their bad decisions.

In a walk-in interview, Kalala, the former State House special assistant for policy implementation and monitoring, said the Judiciary should know that the politically influenced judgments they had been making were creating frustration and anger in the nation, which was not good for stability and peace.

“I wish to advise the judiciary that they should not take people for granted. And they should not take them people for fools because people know what is happening in this country. They know that there is a scheme to launder the plunderers and the judiciary and other government institutions are being used for this purpose,” Kalala said.

“It’s not long ago that a Cabinet minister went public to state that ‘some people should go to prison and others should not’. And what followed thereafter was that some people were being acquitted, Chiluba was acquitted and his wife was acquitted… These things, the acquittals did not come as a surprise because people were told.”

He said the Judiciary was being used.

“Terry Musonda Judiciary of Zambia public relations officer should not blame The Post for the wrong judgment. People know it is a wrong judgment. Can he tell us who are the shareholders in that company registered in Panama?” he asked.

Kalala said the Judiciary should know that Zambians know about offshore companies.

“It’s leaders who are dishonest to their countries who create these offshore companies. If somebody was honest enough why should he decide to put money outside the country? What is he trying to hide? These are the questions that Zambians are asking and they want answers to these questions. They want to know who owns this company that bought these flats. I want to tell people like Terry Musonda that what is being said in the compound among the people is a lot,” Kalala said.

“There is a lot of information circulating and their judgment and other reckless actions and decisions which are being done in this country are annoying people. Anger is building up in this country and it will take a small spark to set this country on fire. So let us be responsible in what we are doing.”

He said the Judiciary should not use court privileges to frustrate free expression in the country.

“The Judiciary is an institution, which is there for the people. It belongs to the people; just like any employee, if he makes a mistake he will be taken to task. He will be made to be answerable to that, the Judiciary is answerable and responsible to the people of Zambia and the people of Zambia have got a right to demand justice and fair play,” Kalala stated.

“If the Judiciary starts working against the people then they are going to react in one way or the other. They Judiciary can manage to get one or two people in jail but what will happen if the people rise? Will there be space in jail for everybody?”
He said intimidation would not help.

“Intimidation is not the right way to build justice, to build fair play in the country, no. It actually works to the opposite. It creates frustration. It pushes the people in the corner and when you push people in the corner just like a snake or a dog it will react to bite. So we demand the truth from the Judiciary,” Kalala said.

He wondered why the judiciary was reacting on behalf of those mentioned.

“It’s not the Judiciary that should react, it’s Chiluba who was mentioned, it’s Sonny Mulenga who was mentioned who should react, not the Judiciary. Why are they reacting on behalf of these people? Has the Judiciary been employed, …has Terry Musonda become the spokesman of (former) president Chiluba and Sonny Mulenga?” Kalala asked.

“Let Sonny Mulenga come out and explain and tell the nation who are the shareholders of this company and how did they engage him? Let these people come here. People would like to know them. People would like to know the people who are investing in this country? The people of Zambia don’t want ghosts.”

He said it was the right of Zambians to analyse a judgment.

“That should be the intellectual and sensible approach to issues. Unless you take the people to be foolish, to be dunderheads, yes, they will not analyse. You are dealing with educated people, with enlightened people. The people of the 1950s who rose against the colonial government are different from the people of today. People of today are more enlightened, so they will question,” he said.

Kalala said justice must be seen to be done.

“The Judiciary should not allow itself to be used by other people for their own ends. They should remain the mirror of this country. People should continue to repose hope, trust and confidence in the Judiciary. But I don’t think this is the case now, it’s very, very difficult for the people of Zambia to trust the Judiciary,” said Kalala.