Those who plant honesty reap integrity

Dear judge Mbadwa,

My Lord, I am writing to you at a time your tribunal has been inundated with cases of alleged corruption and those of citizens conniving with the harbingers of avarice to literally sell the country to the highest bidder.

I now hear the apparition of the Michael Sata of Northern Rhodesia has resurfaced and this time it is appearing in close to a century of estate he owns in Nyasaland. With this apparition haunting Nyasaland even on Boxing Day, one thing is clear.

The filth of bribery and corruption is so deeply entrenched that I dare ask, who will save Nyasaland from the mess the country is in?

My Lord as we are celebrating the likes of Marita Chimbeko for her role and few members of the bench who have ensured that public trust in public officers remains relatively high. At least we can deduce that there are few endangered species at government agencies and departments and even in the private sector that are still impervious to monetary inducements and easy wealth.

If it were true that the apparition of the late Northern Rhodesia president is really haunting us then My Lord, my fears that a culture of judicial miscarriages sponsored by the filthy rich and the corrupt could be pervasive on this account could spell doom, to an otherwise highly celebrated justice delivery system.

There is nothing to write about the already compromised public service delivery system, which as others have argued, was  captured decades ago by you know who.

Perhaps the biggest lesson we can draw from these issues is that we don’t have to  trust anyone no matter how loud they may get to convince us that they are squeaky clean.

At least we know that Nyasas are becoming more self-seeking and egocentric as they put self-interest ahead of that of the country and the general good.

My Lord, I am aware at this stage that these remain allegations but that doesn’t stop some of us, who are permanent members of the court of public opinion, to speculate and fill in the gaps where the official versions are not making any sense.

My Lord, as people celebrate the likes of Marita for demonstrating professional integrity, there is a principle which is applied in all circumstances that I will be compelled to once again remind people of.

 It is the seed being planted that determines the time of harvest and not the sower.  How do I mean?

If we sow bribery and corruption, there will come a time when that crop will be ready for harvest and the planter would not be in a position to run away from the responsibility of reaping it.  You only reap what you sow though some crops take long to mature; they have to be harvested anyway.

I have a feeling that the seeds of corruption and bribery in Nyasaland have just reached harvest time for many people. Let the sowers own their crop now. 

Don’t they say let those with ears hear?

I remain,

John Citizen.