Thu, 29 Nov 2012 16:17:55 +0000
The integrity of the judiciary is under threat inZambiabecause levels of integrity and uprightness have gone down, former Catholic Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo has said.
“Is justice inZambiathe same as justice internationally? InZambiait is worse because 1 per cent of elite Zambians are facing court cases. For how long are these people going to be in court? Why is it that whoever speaks out on the wrongs of PF administration would be on wanted least until a case was built up for him.
“When President Sata came into office he promised that he would deal with the anomalies in the justice system but ‘certain people’ feel they could do better and instead want to control the system in their own way,” Archbishop Milingo said.
And Archbishop Milingo has questioned government lack of consistency in sorting out issues that were affecting common Zambians saying it had become difficult for people to access justice because of high corruption levels in the judicial system.
The 82-year old leader of The Zambia Thy Will Be Done Church of Jesus Christ revealed that at least 1 per cent of working adults were in court for various cases that had dragged on for years.
He said justice dispensation had become more difficult because people were taking advantage of the fact that President Sata announced that he would clean the judiciary.
The pronouncement he said had prompted ‘certain people’ to take advantage and manipulate the system to their liking.
Archbishop Milingo wondered whether the justice inZambiawas the same as international justice.
He said many Zambians were not happy with what was prevailing in the country because they wished well for motherZambia.
“Zambians can celebrate the victory of the Africa Cup whole heartedly but they can’t cerebrate the victory of change of government whole heartedly because they are not sure if they will have the independence they wanted.
“Can Zambians compile a litany of what they have so far benefitted from the Patriotic Front government for the past one year?
“What is it that has been done that Zambians can boast of, that there were free in their own country because as far as am concerned I am the only free Zambian?
“Most of the people have issues that they need government to attend to and want to be done correctly. Zambians will only be free if there was an independent judiciary but as things are, we still have a big problem in our judicial system because certain elements feel they can control it,” he said.
Archbishop Milingo further said that there has been lack of consistence by the government was handling issues.
He said it was not yet clear if the current government would deliver to the people ofZambiain the next four years remaining looking at the way things were being handled.
He however, warned that the PF government should not take Zambians for granted because the same Zambians would one day rise against the leadership style, being exhibited.
The Archbishop also said it was wrong for government to complain that it was spending too much money on the former Head of State Rupiah Banda when it was its responsibility to do so.
“Since the coming of the PF what have the many Zambians benefitted apart from being told ills about the former republican President Rupiah Banda?
“Leave RB alone and if anyone had anything against the old man, let them take appropriate measures to ensure that they provide proof of the offences committed
“We are not being fed with anything but just hatred that people have against the former Head of State.Zambiawas a respected country because we harboured a lot of people whose countries were at war but we should not take this peace and respect for granted.
“These people should stop to embarrass the country because they have no clear issues to talk about. Why talk about one person day in day out? Zambians are noble people and we are not noble fools,” said Archbishop Milingo.
