Move to prosecute corruption cases within specified time frame welcome

By Daily Revelation Editor

During the end of year press Conference held at Lusaka’s Mulungushi International Conference Center, President Hakainde Hichilema told Zambians that he has signed two pieces of legislation that will enable the government to conclude corruption cases within five months.

“I know there were some [people] who were buying time and were even celebrating that we will wait. We will delay until after 2026, alebwelelapo and they will allow us to continue. There is no alebwelelapo! No alebwelelapo! There is nothing like that. There is no waiting, that’s the point I am making. There is no waiting for alebwelelapo. You will be tried [prosecuted] now within five months and the case will close.”

These were the words from Hichilema; talking about how swiftly corruption cases will be expedited in the courts of law.  

We say this because, we have a lot of corruption cases gathering dust in our courts of law, and chances of them being concluded soon get dimmer and dimmer by the day. We concur with the President for making such a profound announcement, whether or not this is mere rhetoric. Our affirmation with his statement is based on the fact that many corruption cases have not been intelligently handled or prosecuted. Majority of the cases keep being unnecessarily dragged on. Our people have been complaining that the fight against corruption in this country is a mere lip service; an impotent exercise that does bear any substantial fruits.

We have countless corruption cases whose future is extremely uncertain, the reason why alleged corruption suspects brag that their cases are not going anywhere. For sure, if their cases are not prosecuted, the legal principle is that any person accused of crime is innocent until proven guilty. So, if corruption cases are not concluded soon, accused persons have the right to get into the political battle. And they shouldn’t be demonized based on failure of prosecution. The legal burden of proof therefore is on the prosecution team.

However, the announcement by Hakainde should not jeopardize investigations into these alleged corruption cases. We say this because many cases risk being poorly investigated and end in nolle prosequi. There is sufficient evidence where poorly handled corruption cases end being discharged on nolle prosequi – and considering that this is coming from the President, there is a high possibility that the majority of corruption cases may not be thoroughly and conclusively investigated.

This is why, on the other hand, we agree with the caution from Transparency International Zambia (TIZ) to the government over the desire to expedite corruption cases without addressing the effects on the prosecuting process. We are not saying the move is bad, No! We are fully in favour of this development if at all the President did sign such a piece of legislation. Our advice is that the government should ensure that no stone is left unturned as they conduct investigation into these cases within a five-month space duration. Zambians hate cases that end in nolle prosequi, especially corruption related cases. This is because such cases do not set a lasting precedence nor send strong messages to deter would-be corruption suspects. We do understand that given political will, corruption cases can be disposed of within a couple of months. Five months is very much possible. In addition, the government should be looking into the whole prosecution system: from the prosecutors to the lawyers, all through the judges. This chain of people sometimes contribute significantly to delayed justice. There is too much connivance interweaving our justice system.