Maravi

Wooooo, Mutembo is DPP

Wooooo, Mutembo is DPP
By The Post
Wed 21 Dec. 2011, 13:58 CAT

THERE is need for some decency, for some honesty in our politics. A just society can only exist when there is decency, fairness and honesty in our politics.

Politics should be honest and responsible because it is an effective way of serving others and working for the integral development of one's country. And politics should be practiced within the limits of the moral order. Those in leadership should use their leadership privileges to further the common good.

Authority is exercised legitimately if it is committed to the common good of society. Let people's representatives fight against injustice; let them devote themselves to the welfare of all. Political positions must have, as their aim, the achievement of the common good. And the best way to fulfil one's obligations of justice and love is to contribute to the common good because this is the reason for the existence of political, social and economic institutions.

And as we have also consistently advised, the exercise of political power, of indeed any power, must be the constant practice of self-limitation and modesty.
It was sad listening to the parliamentary debate over the ratification of Mutembo Nchito as nominee for the office of Director of Public Prosecutions.

Listening to George Kunda confirmed our belief in the view that genuine goodness is threatening to those at the opposite end of the moral spectrum. It made us wonder what some of our representatives in that House actually believe in. The other week, George was on the floor of the House showering us with praises for being a very good newspaper. We were right in not being carried away by George's praise, flattery because he didn't mean it.

We say this because yesterday, this same George was on the floor of this same House insinuating that if Mutembo were ratified for the office of Director of Public Prosecutions, him and us would run things in a way that would be detrimental to Michael Sata's government and the nation in general. How possible is it for a newspaper that the other week George praised as being a very good newspaper to do that, to behave in such an irresponsible and bad way?
We were not surprised that George could not hold his hatred for Mutembo and stood up to continue his scandalisation of Mutembo that he started when he was in government.

George has never hesitated to tell lies about Mutembo and about us. And he was at it again yesterday, trying to spread his hatred for Mutembo and The Post to other members of parliament. But he failed miserably and he should be very ashamed of himself. But George has no shame.

We say this because if George had shame, he wouldn't have been the one to say the things he insinuated about Mutembo and us yesterday. We have not forgotten how George used to accuse Mutembo and us of racketeering and all sorts of things on the floor of that House when he was vice-president. George has never hesitated to abuse his position of power in the House to scandalise ordinary citizens who have no chance of defending themselves on that same floor.

When we rejected his praises, we might have been seen to be ungrateful or arrogant. But we knew that George was a cheap politician, a liar and a very hateful person. George will never forgive Mutembo for exposing his criminal behaviour in collusion with his spineless Director of Public Prosecutions Chalwe Mchenga to extend an unjustified nolle prosequi to their friend Kashiwa Bulaya. We also know that George has been working with his spineless friend Mchenga to ensure that Mutembo is not ratified as a nominee for the position of Director of Public Prosecutions.

Just before he was ratified as a High Court judge, Mchenga tried very hard to scandalise Mutembo and claim there was still need to investigate him further in South Africa when he knew very well that there was nothing wrong he had done to justify being investigated. Both George and Mchenga know very well that their investigations failed to yield anything criminal that they could hang around Mutembo or any of us. And they were told so by the police, the Drug Enforcement Commission and the Anti Corruption Commission.

But being liars, they never had the moral courage to tell the Zambian people that they found nothing criminal in their investigations. And even yesterday, George was still trying to peddle the same lie he used to instruct Francis Kabonde to peddle against us. We can state it with absolute honesty that Kabonde told us that they had found nothing in their investigations against us and we shouldn't waste our time on the matter.

And this was the same thing George, Mchenga and their boss Rupiah Banda, were told. But they have no sense of honesty and they wanted to deceive the whole Parliament to deny the nation the services of a patriot who has demonstrated rare courage, honesty, competence and resoluteness in serving the course of justice. Again, they were shamed. The House voted overwhelmingly in favour of ratifying Mutembo's appointment as Director of Public Prosecutions.

And we can only say woooooo to them! Mwailasha! Mwaikata panshi! Mwashala nobufi bwenu!

George was not even ashamed to use newspaper propaganda that was being disseminated by a criminal, a corrupt element, Richard Sakala. This was a man who was sent to jail for corruption. And this is the man George wants to portray as representing absolute public opinion. As for others, they will simply choke with envy, with frustration over Mutembo's ratification in the same way they are choking with Michael's election victory which they never believed would happen without them.

We mean some tribalists in UPND. As for the corrupt elements, those who have committed crimes, their days are numbered because now the country has very good people at the helm of the Police, Anti Corruption Commission, the Drug Enforcement Commission and the Director of Public Prosecutions.

With this formidable team that Michael has assembled, those who have committed crimes, those who have plundered the resources of our people have every reason not to sleep. And this is why they were panicking over Mutembo's appointment as Director of Public Prosecutions. They know his capacity, they know his record of almost close to 100 per cent convictions. No amount of propaganda could distract him from his prosecution duties. The days of having a spineless Director of Public Prosecutions are over.

We have no doubt that Mutembo will discharge his duties with sufficient honour, fairness, justice and integrity. All our people deserve fairness and justice regardless of the crimes they are suspected to have committed. This country doesn't deserve spineless Directors of Public Prosecutions like Mchenga, who was for hire by those in power. And only in Zambia can such a person be given the high office of High Court judge.

But we know Mchenga's backers in our judiciary - and they are equally as bad as him when it comes to dancing to the tune of those in power. It should not matter where one stands politically when it comes to criminal prosecution. We don't ever want to see the impunity that William Banda and other MMD cadres got away with when their party was in power. The people of Zambia want an independent, fair and honest Director of Public Prosecutions.

And Mutembo fits well in that. We can speak with confidence about this because we know the man very well. If we commit a crime, we have no doubt that Mutembo will get us prosecuted like any other crime suspect. This is the way things should be. The Director of Public Prosecutions should owe no one protection who has committed a crime.

His duty is to protect the public from criminals, whoever they may be and whatever position they may occupy in society. This is the character of the man who prosecuted Frederick Chiluba. This is the character of the man who is hated by defenders of criminals like George.

We have no doubt that those 86 members of parliament who voted for Mutembo's ratification as Director of Public Prosecutions will never regret it because they have discharged a public duty in the most honest and sincere manner. As Robert Kennedy once observed, "Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centres of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

George was part and defender of the most corrupt and intolerant regime this country has ever seen, a regime where ministers steal billions of kwacha and bury them under the earth when their people have no food, have no medicines; when our children have no access to a desk and so on and so forth.

That is the regime George belonged to and defended. What integrity can George talk about? George is nothing but a shameless liar. But yesterday his lies couldn't be bought by the majority of our members of parliament, and they defied his appeal for Mutembo not to be ratified.

Now George will choke with envy, hatred and probably anger. Mutembo is our Republic's Director of Public Prosecutions without George's support or approval. We can only repeat to George: wooooooo!

Labels: CHALWE MCHENGA, DPP, MUTEMBO NCHITO

posted by MrK @ 3:40 PM