By Kapya Kaoma.
When President Hakainde Hichilema said “a clique of thieves have been feeding off public resources since Independence,” was he afraid to say “a clique of thieves have been feeding off public resources since the corrupt Chiluba Presidency?” President HH’s billions cannot be counted without mentioning corrupt F.T.J. Chiluba–the two ate from the same plate! Despite its brutal rule, the KK regime’s corruption was petty. The Chiluba era is the New Dawn of white collar corruption, and His Excellency President Hakainde Hichilema, was the major beneficiary.
The call to fight corruption is always laudable except for the rottenness of Zambia’s law enforcement agencies and judiciary. The system operates as the President’s kantemba–it shields his cartel.
I called the PF a cartel of heartless criminals, which deserves to rot in jail for stealing from the masses. But with Lungu as corruptor in Chief, the cartel was shielded from testing justice. Today, the very blind law enforcement agencies have had their eyes miraculously restored and have arrested the mafia who, like starved lions, proudly voraciously devoured public coffers for years, while kids died in masses from hunger and curable illnesses. But why now?
Like Jesus, Bally magically opened their corrupt sight, only for a while. Like baby BOSS, he now controls the ACC, the Courts and the Police to haunt and hunt for thieves who were protected by the corruptor in Chief. Thank God it is pay back time for these heartless criminals unless like Masebo, Mutati and others, they are willing to join the UPND and become Bally worshipers.
But since the President’s timeline dates back to independence, is it not a fair game to go back to the Chiluba regime to which HH owes his billions? If we want the truth, however, we should hire independent investigators as opposed to his tuntembas–I mean the politically manipulated and rotten and corrupt ACC, Police and Judiciary, whose role is to sacrifice perceived political opponents to President Hichilema.
The President heroically declared no “sacred cows” in the fight against corruption; thus he should allow an independent investigation into the corrupt privatization of government assets during the Chiluba regime. He must also allow independent investigation of the misuse of state funds in the name of fighting corruption during the Mwanawasa regime. Similar investigations should be conducted with the Banda, Sata and Lungu regimes. Thereafter, people who stole from Zambians must be held accountable. This is the only way to settle corruption in the nation. I am afraid HH and his Cabinet will be among the clique.
I am calling for independent investigations as opposed to our rotten and corrupt Police, ACC and Judiciary because these entities only serve the President and the president alone. They dispense maggots of injustice as opposed to justice; they are rotten to the core–I repeat, rotten to the core. Most of those who put on those uniforms, sit in ACC offices, and sit on those benches don’t deserve their titles but larva of shame. Why is it that public officials are only arrested for corruption after the change of powerhouses?
Our law enforcement agencies and Courts are a disgrace. When will they start speaking truth to power? Was Chitotela not acquitted by the same Courts for corruption? How about Chitalu? Where was the ACC when the PF cartel was plundering public coffers daily? The answer is, they were kissing the boots of the Big Man. It is for this reason that I personally don’t find these arrests meaningful. Just as HH called the arrests and firings under the Lungu administration as tribal and politically motivated, so would the new President see these arrests. Yes, the culprits are stinking corrupt, but the justice system is stinkingly rotten. Without moral credibility, these criminals will walk freely again. Is it not time to investigate the Police, Courts and the ACC for corruption? Replacing them is not enough–Zambians deserve to know why criminals continue to roam the streets despite ample evidence. Only independent investigation would explain this–the HH team is just as compromised.
Importantly, if President Hichilema is serious about fighting corruption, he must not be among the clique feeding on public resources. It is an abuse of power for public officials to pass policies that benefit their business interests. Zambians need to know the President’s business partners, which businesses he owns, and how his policies are likely to benefit him. He cannot be President and CEO of his companies and remain the President of Zambia. This is a recipe for corruption. He cannot fight corruption without disclosing the conflict of interests to the nation in the policies he is pushing as president of Zambia. For example, how would the new agriculture equipment policy in the budget that allows duty free import on heavy duty harvesters benefit him? Is he making deals with international bodies to benefit his business interests? Corruption has many faces–it comes in many forms.
A clique of individuals will continue to live on the public backs as long as the cult of the Big Man is the LAW and the COURTS. It is one thing to sing ANTI-CORRUPTION hymns, but it is another thing to resist being corrupt. Aside from KK, corruption was the hymn that every former president ran on. The anti-corruption legacy, however, is only built after you leave office.
As Bob Marley said, for corrupt politicians, “Time will tell. You think you are living in heaven when you’re living in hell.” And so it is for the PF cartel. Hell is yours to enjoy! Mr. President, thanks for arresting these heartless criminals–they surely deserve it. But remember that time will come when your own UPND officials will be arrested for the same by the same boys when the LAW and the COURTS change hands to another President.
It is rotten justice in Zambia!