Malawi justice minister should be applauded for VP's snub: Politicans should not abuse govt machinery
Recent remarks by Vice President, Khumbo Kachali, on the need for John Kapito to be prosecuted for crimes he allegedly committed during the Bingu regime is detrimental to our democracy, an institution that needs a proper push by our political leaders.
Utterances on the political podiums are in the domain of millions of Malawians who attend the meetings or get the information through the media.
Several grey areas accompany Kachali’s rhetoric as it is attached with a notable trait of vendetta or instilling fear in those whose ideas are not in tandem with what government is doing.
Kachali should be the first person to know that in any democracy, the tide of views does not and cannot flow in the same direction. As such there is need to uphold the constitutional requirement of allowing the citizens to express themselves freely through whatever means as provided in the country’s constitution.
It is an anomaly in this dispensation for a government official to use or abuse power to square off with opponents whose only weapon is the freedom to express themselves freely.
The Vice President’s remarks are found wanting on several grounds.
Number one; much as Kapito was really arrested last year at the height of dissent with the Mutharika administration, we are made to believe that the state discontinued the case after it was established that the forex he was accused of acquiring illegally was legally sourced. Another charge dropped was that of carrying seditious material on his way to a human rights seminar in Switzerland.
It therefore comes as a sign of personal grudging on the part of Kachali who chooses to resurrect an issue that was cremated months ago through proper prosecution and justice mechanisms.
Number two; the timing of the Vice President’s remarks is flawed as it comes at a time when Kapito is in the limelight ahead of the proposed consumer demonstrations in the coming days. It only shows that Kachali would love to see Kapito being diverted from his cause to concentrate on the so called cases.
By demanding the revamping of Kapito’s case, the Vice President spoke in total contrast with the very institutions that make his government intact. Government is not about people, it is all about
No wonder Justice Minister, Ralph Kasambara, questioned the motive behind such a move and he must be applauded for that.
Kasambara must be applauded for shunning Kachali’s stand in a view that government does not want to use State machinery for such a move. I will, however, be quick to point that this is just a tip of the iceberg as we don’t know what is taking place behind the curtains.
Kachali’s remarks display a two-fold scenario. Either we have to redefine how far and serious should we take political rhetoric or restructure our systems so that justice should not in any way be influenced by political hatred.
In a normal democracy setting, government machinery belongs to the people and should not be used to victimize the citizenry in any way. Those in power must remember that just as government machinery was used on them before they rose to the mantle, it can also be used against them after they quit office.
Leave government machinery in the hands of the citizens; that is the only place where it is safe and secure.
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