Whether Chakwera fire or maintains Chizuma, he has lost the plot, he has lost the battle

BY SEAN MATEUS

Thing is, whether Chakwera fire or maintains Chizuma as the ACB DG, in as far as controlling the narrative is concerned, he has lost the plot. He has lost the battle. For what it was worth, this is a battle he should have avoided at all costs, or in the alternative, should have swiftly commenced and swiftly concluded.

Here is what I mean.

As soon as that audio leaked, an investigation should have been instituted in earnest to determine whether or not Chizuma was fit to continue serving as the ACB DG. The president should have maintained or fired her based on the outcome of the investigation. Upon a finding her not negligent in her conduct, a lesser disciplinary action would have been in order. That “forgiveness” the other day, should have followed the outcome of an investigation. It should have followed a thorough think and digestion of the findings of that purported investigation. But none was conducted in the circumstances. And she was “forgiven” nonetheless.

All in all, having publicly declared that he had “forgiven” her, he should have let it go. It was a very unwise decision to go after her through proxies having publicly absolved her of any blame in relation to the leaked audio. Had Chizuma been left alone, any perceived retrogression in the fight against corruption would squarely have been blamed on her incompetence as opposed to a hostile operating environment and lack of support from the president (and his men). Public opinion would not have been deeply divided as it is now. Likely, the opinion could have been on Chakwera’s side. This, would have been the easier way out. Assuming that the investigation had proven minor elements of mischief not warranting removal from office.

Wherein the investigation had found that her conduct constituted a grave professional mischief, a different course of action should have been followed: swift removal from office. But as we all know, this was not done.

Problems began when Chakwera resolved to engage Chizuma via his proxies: Frighton Pompho, Steve Kayuni, that murderous police squad and presently, Colleen Zamba and Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda. Had she been fired in time, Chakwera’s wish to have a compromised character head the ACB would have materialised. With Chizuma gone, whatever it is that he doesn’t want the public to know now would have been free from danger under the direction of this new guy. The appointment of Chilomba as Deputy DG, with Chizuma still in place, came a little late. It’s off season now.

Had Chizuma been fired back then, there would have been small grunts here and there, but in the grand scheme of things, no one would have been inventive enough to assert that Chakwera and his buddies have skeletons in their closets. No one could have been odd enough to contend that Chakwera is actually the rubble that he at one time said is set to clear out. But that time is gone. He has crossed the Rubicon. He is wading through the muddy swamp waters and bigger problem has surfaced now: reasonable suspicion has been created that Chakwera is not here to serve Malawians but a small filthy thieving cartel of well connected buddies.

All this is his own doing.

You see, in politics, image is as much important as action. A leader must be able to manipulate the perception of his people through positive acts to garner goodwill and support. As a leader, you cannot consistently demonstrate that you are working against the interests of the people and still expect their goodwill at the end of the day. That’s bat-shit crazy! Where the populace see their leader as an absent and self-serving individual, right there and then, his subjects lose their respect for him. They despise and eventually rebel against him. As long as a leader fails to act virtuously, his subjects will never believe in him, and it will never be easier for him to rule or lead them. Very soon we’ll get to this stage under Chakwera’s administration.

So, while Chizuma will eventually go, that perception, that Chakwera is part of a closely knit clique illegally feasting on poor Malawians’ monies, and further to that, that he is protecting his close allies from prosecution while Malawians themselves are barely surviving, aint going nowhere anytime soon. To this end, whether Chizuma stays or not, the Man of God, or former Man of God, or whichever is applicable now, is about to take a big L for it.