A REVIEW OF PRESIDENT HAKAINDE HICHILEMA’S 1 YEAR IN OFFICE
PART 3: THE RULE OF LAW
By Sean Tembo – PeP President
1. Under our current political dispensation, a Republican President is the alpha and omega. He appoints the Inspector General of Police who decides who to arrest today and who to arrest tomorrow. He appoints the Director General of the Anti-Corruption Commission who decides who to arrest for corruption and who to turn a blind eye on. The President appoints the DG for the Drug Enforcement Commission who decides whose wealth was legitimately acquired and whose is suspected to be proceeds of crime and therefore subject to seizure. In other words, at any given time, a Republican President has the power to single-handedly decide which citizen will have freedom and which one will spend the night behind bars. When it comes to the rule of law, the question is whether a particular President is exercising their powers in a judicious manner. In other words, whether they are fair, objective and equitable in exercising the power of who to arrest, whose bank accounts and property to seize and who to charge with what offence. By the way, anyone who believes that a Republican President is not involved in the decisions of which politically connected person to arrest and when, is too naive. A President is always involved.
2. When it comes to President Hakainde Hichilema and how he has performed as far as the rule of law is concerned in the past 12 months, we look at three related but distinct considerations: (i) his appetite to fight corruption and other injustices (ii) his consistency in fighting corruption and other injustices across the board (iii) and his adherence to the spirit and letter of the Constitution in the fight against corruption and other injustices.
3. When it comes to the first question; does President Hakainde Hichilema have appetite to fight corruption and other injustices? My answer to this question is a definite yes. Through his many public statements, he has set the tone that he does not tolerate corruption and other injustices. He has facilitated the formation of the so-called Joint Investigations Team, and in so doing given the fight against corruption political will. He has so far pursued various individuals connected to the previous regime and recovered huge sums of money and large chunks of properties suspected to be proceeds of crime. Indeed, on the face of it there is no question that President Hakainde Hichilema has appetite to fight corruption, and for that, he needs to be applauded by all well-meaning Zambians.
4. The second question is whether President Hakainde Hichilema is consistent in his fight against corruption and other injustices? Does he hold members of his UPND party to the same standard as he holds members of the opposition? Or does he practice double standards? Well, although his administration is relatively new, there are specific incidents of alleged corruption that have occured. A case in point is when the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stanley Kakubo was captured receiving a suspected bribe from a Chinese businessman on a Saturday. Another is when a husband to one of his Ministers was awarded a $50 million fertilizer contract allegedly without following tender procedures and without the Minister declaring interest. Another is when his Political Advisor, Levy Ngoma and his Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security; Mr Joseph’s Akafumba were allegedly captured on tape plotting to prevent then Harry Kalaba’s Democratic Party (DP) from filing a candidate in the Kabwata Parliamentary by-election. Yet another is when UPND cadres led by their Chairman for Special Duties; William Tekere Banda, assaulted PeP members and damaged a PeP branded bus at St. Patrick’s Primary School during the filing of nominations for the Kabwata Parliamentary by-election, in full view of Police officers.
5. In the case of the Minister of Foreign Affairs who was photographed allegedly receiving a bribe from a Chinese businessman, President Hakainde Hichilema told the nation that when he saw the pictures in question trending online, he immediately called Stanley Kakubo and asked him if he had received a bribe, to which Stanley denied. The President said he was satisfied with Stanley’s response and therefore he closed the matter. No investigation whatsoever, just calling the alleged culprit!!! I find that approach to fighting corruption very laughable. Coming to the second incident where the husband to one of the President’s Ministers was awarded a $50 million contract without following tender procedures and without declaring conflict of interest by the Minister, the President is on record saying there was no wrong-doing there so there was no need to investigate the matter. But if the matter was not investigated, then how did the President know that there was no wrong-doing? To add insult to injury, the Minister in question issued a public statement saying that her business dealings and those of her husband are separate and therefore there was no need to declare interest!! This is despite the fact that the Anti-Corruption Act of 2012 clearly defines who a connected person is, and the need for declaration of interest. In the case of Levy Ngoma and Joseph’s Akafumba undermining the country’s democracy, in which the President himself and his Vice were implicated, President Hakainde Hichilema told the nation that we should allow law enforcement agencies to authentic whether indeed the voices captured on the audio are those of Levy Ngoma and Joseph’s Akafumba. That was more than six months ago, and up until now, his Inspector General of Police is still mute on the matter. In the case where known UPND cadres attacked our people and damaged our property during the filing of nominations at St. Patrick’s Primary in Kabwata, the Police are still mute on the matter despite a docket being opened and medical reports being submitted. Suffice to mention that one of the PeP officials beaten ended up suffering a miscarriage.
6. Indeed, the specific cases outlined above clearly answer the question of whether President Hakainde Hichilema is consistent in his fight against corruption and other injustices. It is evident that he is not. Whereas he charges like a pitbull on cases involving the opposition, he is toothless when it comes to cases involving his own UPND members and sympathizers. The President practices double standards, which brings into question whether his appetite to fight corruption is genuine, or it is a mere ploy to destroy and obliterate the opposition so that he can create a de facto one party state and elevate himself from President to King?
7. The above notwithstanding, let us move to the third and last question; does the President adhere to the spirit and letter of the Constitution in his fight against corruption and other injustices? Indeed, the Republican Constitution provides the general guiding framework within which all other subsidiary laws should be developed. Any law which is inconsistent with the Constitution is void to the extent of the inconsistency. Among the several guiding principles which the Constitution provides is the maxim that everyone must be presumed innocent until proven guilty. And also that no one should be punished outside of the provisions of the justice system. In other words, that there should be no extrajudicial punishment. A person should be punished only after they have been found guilty by a court of law or a competent tribunal. These Constitutional provisions might appear to be an unnecessary inconvenience when you are in power, but they are what differentiates our country from banana republics out there.
8. As to whether President Hakainde Hichilema has, in the past 12 months adhered to the provisions of the Constitution in his fight against corruption and other injustices, my answer is a definite no. Mumbi Phiri’s incarceration for more than 6 months, without trial is a case in point. She is being punished before being found guilty of any offence. It is ironic that when President Hakainde Hichilema was subjected to incarceration for 128 days without trial under the previous regime, him and his supporters were up in arms, but today they do not see anything wrong with subjecting another citizen to the same injustice. In fact, Hakainde is still brooding over his incarceration up to this day. A press conference does not go by without him talking about it, and you can literally hear the change in his tone when he does. So if it was that painful to him, why should he derive joy in subjecting another citizen to the same pain and suffering? Or is it a case of vengeance? Another case of lack of adherence to the spirit and letter of the Constitution in the fight against corruption is the late at which people’s properties are seized and forfeited to the State without a trial. Yes l agree that there was a lot of corruption under the previous regime and most people became multi-millionaires overnight. And yes l agree that all those who have deprived the Zambian people of their resources through corruption must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. But the fight against corruption must be done in a fair and equitable manner. If we are going to recover money or properties from a corrupt person, let it only be done after the person has been subjected to a trial and been found guilty, and not before. President Hakainde Hichilema needs to water down his appetite for extra-judicial punishment, because it is against the letter and spirit of the Constitution. When we are in a position of power, we need to be fair to those who are less powerful so that when the roles reverse, we too may be treated fairly. Unless of course the President is telling us that he will never need fair treatment from anyone for the rest of his life? That he will forever be the all-powerful Hakainde Hichilema?
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SET 16.08.2022