By Kapya Kaoma
“Gods must be crazy,” I thought while staring at the “Zambia Daily Mail” headline. Did I truly expect to live to see a televised trials for the “attempted assassination” of the Zambian president? What an interesting time to live! Granted, such a high-profile case warrants live coverage. The international media would, no doubt, pounce on the story with untold excitement. But at the heart of this spectacle is the alleged involvement of witches. And when did witchcraft become treason? And what a twisted attempt to showcase our justice system to the world? Are you kidding me?
I understand the wise people at ZNBC may be keen to please the narcissistic president, but to publicly undress the nation just to feed the president’s ego is deeply troubling. What’s more troubling is the case itself: it’s awfully ludicrous. Pray me, do Zambian law schools teach the prosecution of witches? Since this is a treason case, how will the judge determine the admission of evidence? Will the court allow witch doctors and other alleged witches to testify as expert witnesses? Which things will the court entertain as legitimate evidence? I know this is a politically motivated circus, and the judges will likely bend the law to impress the Supreme Leader, all to keep their positions. We saw it with the Constitutional Court (ConCourt), and we are bound to see it in this bizarre case. But at what cost?
This case will inflict so much damage on President Hichilema’s international image, and more crucially, on the nation itself. What of the citizens, caught in the crossfire of this political theater? Will the Supreme Court now begin to hear cases once confined to traditional courts? While I respect traditional beliefs, for the Head of State to “champion” this case is sinking into the absurd. Alas, this is one of the prices of getting power with the help of people like Seer 1 – suddenly, you see “witches” on blooms lurking everywhere.
The president has nothing substantive to ride on to kick-start his second-term campaign. What better distraction from the economic crisis we face than a live viewing of a trial of “witches” in the postmodern era? It will be another famous Nigerian comedy – only this time, it will be live and broadcast to the world.
Politics can be a dirty game, but some of the president’s tactics are proving to be beyond bizarre. I want to call it “surreal”, but the truth is, his control over the judiciary is bordering on mere insanity. As Zambians, we deserve better.
We have had highly sensitive crimes that demand the nation’s attention. What happened to the private plane that landed with millions of dollars, gold and guns at the airport? How about the “sugrite” scandal? What of the cases in which high-profile UPND officials were implicated – how did they conclude? Those cases were, and are still, of undeniable public interest. Yet, they are tried in the shadows. Why the witchcraft case, then? The answer is as obvious as cynical: this case is only designed to portray the President as the victim of an opposition conspiracy. This, his loyal worshippers will claim, might explain his recent illnesses and mental blackouts (I pray it won’t get me arrested). Knowing Zambians fear witchcraft more than gunfire, the president hopes to score a major win. But the truth is, televising this trial will only expose him as a desperate figure, pleading for public sympathy while the whole world laughs at him.
We have so many critical issues that we should be addressing. Why not televise real cases of public interest—the cases in which both the PF and the UPND administrations are implicated? How many times have we heard of reports of high-profile firings, yet those who dare to speak out are silenced? Remember Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Lilian Siyuni.
I personally pray that the televised trial of witches may finally shed light on other cases that deserve attention. Cameras must now be allowed in court for all cases. Doing so would help us know how politicians employ government media to lie to us.
Cameras in court in Zambia, are you nuts? Do you want to expose rampant incompetence bordering corrupt practices by our Judges at all levels? That is heresy. After all, in the first quarter of the 21st century, we rely on the latest technology of hand-written Judge’s notes which can disappear or be edited to suit the “interest of Justice” instead of Rule of Law or Rules of Natural Justice.
I hope I am a sleep and hopefully when I wake I will realize it was just a dream after all.
Why was znbc so excited to wish to spend tax payer’s money to televise this issue instead of focussing to engage government leadership to find solution to reduce tax burden on Zambians? Do zambians deserve tax holidays?
Why do we need to account for every resource? Is it because government to accomplish its emergency programmes need to be funded by money from tax payer’s purse better than donor’s fund?