If only the PF/UKA praise singers had displayed their newly found but fake vigour against corruption and alleged anti-shrinking democratic space during the 2011-2021 period!
By Prof Munyonzwe Hamalengwa
Can you imagine how far towards a corrupt-free and away from alleged shrinking democratic space Zambia would now be if the PF/UKA praise singers displayed their newly found albeit unconvincing vigour against these vices during the 2011-2021 period?
The UPND would not have inherited the corruption now alleged against them because the PF/UKA praise singers would have ensured that corruption and anti-democratic shrinking space was snuffed out of existence during the 2011- 2021 period. No one can believe that the PF/UKA praise singers did not know the reports of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) reports. What were they saying about these reports then and what are they saying about these reports now? The records are all there. They have always been there. How many reports did the PF/UKA praise singers and their organic intellectuals and newspapers follow up to conclusion through investigation, charges, trial, conviction or acquittal? The records are there or not there. How many revelations of the [Parliamentary] Public Accounts [Committee] were followed or not followed? How many disclosures of misfeasance in the Auditor General’s reports were investigated and accountability demanded? The records are there.
How many times were the Proceeds of Crime and Forfeiture laws used to go after the culprits and what is the value or nature of any recovered property? The records are there or not there.
All the former presidents’ family members who are before the courts or are being investigated have stated that they got all their vehicles, houses, land, millions of dollars( or Kwacha) from the former president Edgar Chagwa Lungu (ECL). Would all the PF/UKA praise singers have been ignorant of this and wouldn’t they have raised hell to point this out and demand to know how a president’s salary and allowances could manage to buy gas stations, farms, forests, massive land, construction of luxury houses, deposits of money in private hands and millions of dollars in other assets? Would these PF/UKA praise singers not have demanded an investigation or moved to have ECL’s immunity to be stripped so that a proper accounting could take place? Would the PF/UKA praise singers even now demand an affidavit from ECL to document where and how thus largesse was acquired and who amongst his politically and economically exposed persons was given what?
The fight against corruption must be waged against all governments. The PF/UKA praise singers were in government for 10 years. Most key individuals are still alive. They can account for their deeds on the corruption front in those 10 years. Others like Honourable Harry Kalaba and Honourable Chishimba Kambwili are still alive and used to point out the massive corruption under the PF/UKA praise singers government, and the PF/UKA praise singers can move the two to disclose all the corruption they were alleging and this time under the protection of the law. Kalaba and Kambwili were in a position to know because they served as ministers under the PF/UKA praise singers governments. Whatever they said is on record. Right now a great deal of money and properties have been seized and forfeited to the state or are in various states of investigation or proceedings before courts. Given their newly found zeal to stamp out corruption which they failed to do during the PF/UKA praise singers reign, would the PF/UKA praise singers now offer assistance in helping the recovery of looted monies and property? They know where the bodies are buried. Kalaba and Kambwili used to relate knowledge of where the bodies are buried. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The PF/UKA praise singers never sang about the reckless borrowing that led Zambia into defaulting and the current debt burden! Has anyone ever heard any PF/UKA praise singer ever talk or write about the fact they the PF/UKA praise singer government defaulted on its debt obligations or that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rejected to give any bailouts to the PF/UKA praise singers government because of actual or perceived massive corruption under that government?
Concerning the violation of the Constitution, the rule of law and practices that result in shrinking democratic space, how many PF/UKA praise singers have you ever heard denounce or document the legendary constitutional violations, trampling of the rule of law and practices that shrink the democratic space? The PF/UKA praise singers gave us a mutilated Constitution which they signed with their eyes closed purely in order to come to power. They never talk about the effect of Articles 2 and 7 of the Constitutional Amendment No. 1 of 2016. Read those articles and gauge their importance to the ECL attempt to run for third term again. They rigged the results of the 2015 and 2016 elections. Lungu violated the Constitution in 2016 when he did not hand over power to the Speaker of the House as per constitutional requirement. Lungu was not sworn in by the Chief Justice or Deputy Chief Justice as per constitutional requirement. How many PF/UKA praise singers talk about this?
All this is peanuts compared to the massive shrinking space the PF/UKA praise singers wrought on the country. That government was so jealousy that they didn’t even want to share airspace with the opposition: massive airspace belonged to only the PF/UKA praise singers! Not only did they monopolise airspace, they monopolised ground earth space as well. One time Hakainde Hichilema had to escape through the roof in Ndola because the PF/UKA praise singers did not want him to use the PF/UKA ground which they claimed was theirs alone. In Chipata the PF/UKA praise singers prevented HH from venturing into town. That was their earth and ground space. In Shiwang’andu the PF/UKA praise singers nearly caused a helicopter carrying UPND delegates to crush because that was PF/UKA earth and ground space.
That was even mild compared to the PF/UKA praise singers government using live bullets to demonstrate their claim to owning Zambian earth, ground and airspace. They killed a law abiding and selfless prosecutor Nsama Nsama, they killed Mr Joseph Kaunda, they killed Mapenzi Chibulo, they killed Lawrence Banda, they killed Vespers Shimunzhila, they shot one person on the Supreme Court of Zambia premises and the bullet is still lodged in his buttocks. And many more killed with pandas wielded by the PF/UKA praise singers. And that is just the tip of the iceberg which you never hear PF/UKA praise singers talk about.
All that has been written above and more that could be written about the practices of the PF/UKA praise singers government during the 2011-2021 period is not a licence or excuse for the UPND government to compare themselves and claim that they are doing better. The aim of the article is simply to emphasise that Zambia would be a much better place if the PF/UKA praise singers now were as mouthful against corruption and alleged shrinking democracy during the 2011-2021 period. If they had done that, whatever the UPND practices now are or alleged practices, they would have been in the bud and Zambia would be in a better place. Because the PF/UKA praise singers never spoke, the UPND continued supposedly because there were to be no repercussions for massive corruption and engaging in democracy shrinking practices. But is this UPND government docile in fighting corruption as the PF/UKA praise singers government was? My assessment is that despite the carry-over in corruption practices that has been pointed out, this current government will be judged at the end of the five-year term to have done better in fighting corruption than the PF/UKA praise singers government did in its 10-year rule between 2011-2021. What will contribute more to vanquishing corruption is to set up a wide ranging commission of inquiry into the extent of corruption, its modus operandi under the PF and UPND governments and to investigate, charge and prosecute all those found wanting, starting with old cases. The best protection for all is the concept and practice of the equal application, protection and benefit of the law for everybody. If the law is applied equally for everybody regardless of what government is in power, there will be no accusations of revenge and unequal application of the law. Case submitted.
Prof Hamalengwa writes a lot on Justice and the Judiciary. One of his books is a 589 page book entitled, “The Politics of Judicial Diversity and Transformation”. He teaches Criminal Law and the Law of Evidence. Email: munyonzwe.hamalengwa@zaou.ac.zm