Off the Wall Of Ralph Kasambara: My Dear Mr Clean, Mr Know It All

Let me preface my post by saying that my views on Martha Chizuma debacle are not a secret. It’s unfortunate that you and your cabal of self-imposed righteous men and women think that any one holding views contrary to yours is a crooked corrupt and unpatriotic.

When we offer gratuitously some legal opinion privately it’s not that we are supporting a particular cause. Only being useful to powers that be to avoid obvious blunders and the powers that be being floored in courts.

The case of Commissioners is one in point May I remind you that we live in a democracy where trading of diverse opinions is order of the day.

Not supporting the cause of having Martha Chizuma is not treachery. Is not that one is crooked let alone that one is afraid of being investigated by ACB. I would be very happy to have her there; and that her first assignment be that of investigating the people that went around distributing money to members of PAC that they should vote for her.

Hope you will tell the Nation who those persons were; and how much they were offering or out rightly giving out. Oops I had digressed! My views are open and I have shared them on Facebook and on WhatsApp. What I have not said or done so far is to offer my personal views on whether she qualifies for the post or not.

Since you have forced me to state my position on the matter here we go. For starters Martha Chizuma’s Reports so far have been sexed up to fit a particular political narrative. In simple words she has of late gone overboard. She has exceeded her mandate.

 Lawyers would say she has been acting outside her jurisdiction. One can only guess why she as “very qualified lawyer” would do that. In one of her reports she detailed the way recruitments at public institutions ought to be done. Yet at her own institution of Malawi Human Rights Commission she is doing the opposite.

As I write members of staff are up in arms demanding her to explain why she and other Commissioners are advertising for posts to outsiders when they are equally qualified persons within the Commission.

They are accusing her of not practicing what she is preaching through her sexed up Ombudsman Reports. As to why she is doing that heaven knows. The point is : from her recent conduct she appears to be politically inclined to victimize one sect of population.

And that is what others are politically fighting against. Others are fighting legally just like the staff at Malawi Human Rights Commission. And come next week there will be a “flurry of Judicial review cases” challenging her Reports, findings and recommendations.

And mark me those cases will succeed. And that perception alone for me disqualifies her for that job of Director of Anti-Corruption Bureau. That job demands maturity and impartiality. Oops oops I digressed again. My stance is purely grounded on respect for rule of law. I will not support any cause that is against the dictates of the law.

Any cause that seeks to tear apart separation of powers and checks and balances enshrined in our Constitution. Any cause that seeks to undermine the independence of the Judiciary. I have said it on several occasions that if you don’t like the law don’t rush to the streets or social media platforms when you have capacity to change the law.

You can actually pass a 3 sections legislation making Martha Chizuma as Director of ACB thereby reversing PAC decision. But what you cannot do is to bully PAC into changing its decision. You cannot have the National Assembly pass a resolution reversing PAC’s decision.

PS. I wanted to send this to you via DM but it seems we are no longer friends and the Whatsapp we used to communicate on is no longer in use.

Hence my resort to this platform as I am told by your trusted cheerleaders that you do read my posts on Facebook and WhatsApp groups of Great Minds and Hard Talk Mainstream.