Arrests welcome, but no smiles until logical conclusion of Njaunju, Muluzi, Chasowa cases

As Nyasa Times, we welcome the arrests Malawi Police Services has made, so far, on figures such as Osman Jomo, Norman Chisale, Rosa Mbilidzi, Ahmed Chunara and several others for their involvement in alleged crimes committed during the previous regimes.

We view such as arrests as positive steps toward ensuring that the rule of law is paramount and no one, in this country, should be seen to be above the law.

However, though we welcome these arrests, we are not coy to point out several misgivings Malawians have with our crime fighting agencies.

We weep for Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB),  Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), Malawi Police, the office of the Director of Public Prosecution and many others for their failure to stop impunity in the country because of their penchant appetite of working as stooges of incumbents.

In the grand scheme of our Constitution, these agencies were put in place to work 24 hours, independently, in rooting out corruption and impunity in this country without fear or favor.

On the contrary, these agencies have been a let down to the core, always sitting at ease and idle as incumbents ransack every coin in the public purse.

The only time their existence is felt is, mostly, in the first three or four months of a new government in power. They will make quick arrests and rush to the courts with funny charges but, in the end, nothing substantial.

That is why, today, we still talk about Bakili Muluzi’s K1.7 billion corruption case. That is why, today, we still don’t have a clear direction in ensuring justice is done over the murder of personalities such as Issa Njaunju, Buleya Lule and Robert Chasowa to name but just a few.

There was a moment when these cases were a priority but, in a flash, they all vanished.

What we must underline is that these cases symbolize the highest level of impunity ever committed in this country. When they continue to stall the message we are getting is that the State is playing lip service to fighting impunity in this country.

The onus, now, is on President Lazarus Chakwera’s government. Malawians have been let down by his predecessors. He has a chance to join the failures of his predecessors or chart a new direction in fighting impunity in this country.

That is why, though we applaud the arrests made so far, we will not smile until these outstanding high profile cases are dealt with and we reach a logical conclusion.

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