Anticipation...
There has been a high anticipation by every Malawian that the Budget Director of the Ministry of Finance holds the key which would lead to disclose the main architects of the Cashgate scandal. Obviously, I thought that the man who had gone close to death would not fail to find the audacity of disclosing who, where, and how this infamous scandal rose after the foiled assassination on that fateful September night.
Puzzling...
Unfortunately, for me and the rest of the tax-payers had been given a raw deal when they realised that the one we had originally thought held the keys, only sounded confused and seemingly puzzled at how his fate could be connected to the scandal.
Maybe the scandal was a miraculous phenomenon bound to occur after that fateful night, and plausibly maybe most Malawians committed a fallacy of 'post-hoc ergo propter hoc', meaning - after the thing, therefore because of the thing. But as fast as I hoped that many distinguished Malawians were caught in such an ignominious fallacy, I was presented with a surprise that this 'hero' thought the whole scandal, whose overwhelming evidence surfaced every other day after his attack, was nothing but an illusionary cyber-attack. This statement may have come to the defence of the investigations on unexplained wealth, I suggest, yet the same statement is a pin pointer that his presentation was coached.
In the first place, I would like to believe that he only had to make such a statement as he was away from events unfolding at home. But would we expect such a man, to come forth and explain to the many sane Malawians that what the think they perceive is unreal and what the think is unreal, real? I wonder what logical connections would Mphwiyo produce to further elaborate how cyber attacks have reached these levels of hoaxing massive plunder of public funds to the tune of 20 Billion Kwacha, which Malawians trusted their government with. Would such a statement not embarrass the donors under the Common Approach to Budget Support (CABS) as whiz-kids and foolishly acting on mere cyber-attacks in instead of making judgement on facts.
I think much as I would desire to defend Mphwiyo, but more than three fingers are pointing back at him. It was obvious that he displayed a rhetorical showdown against a club of hand clappers who may not have walked the corridors of prestigious universities that the Director had once galloped. But the issue is not about rhetorical swordplay nor is the matter about intellectual acumen, the issue is about accountability and transparency. The issue is about the waste of government resources meant for the 14 million poor Malawians who are seeking answers from the government after the death of Mutharika and the revelation of his lavishness.
I believe that intellect and reason do not necessarily entail justice. The way the presentation was made, leaves a lot to be desired on whether Malawians had benefited anything from the presentation except that 'one man who is naturally gifted with intellect had been victimised for his success' innocently. Nothing to do with the plight of the nation's reserve being looted and nothing about how and why such access has been left unchecked until the fateful September night.
What Mphwiyo should know is that the speech will go back to haunt him, even as he tries to recuperate from the fatal wounds. It would have been brave of him to have capitalized the opportunity to outline the events that led to his shooting and where and how these events could have sparked the cashgate revelations. As much as the fallacy of post hoc ergo propter hoc is concerned, it was the expectation of all Malawians to distinctly disconnect his attack from the whole scandal that erupted like a box of pandemonium.
It was obvious that his fate led to the unearthing of the government syndicate, even though it remains uncertain on whether his fate was driven by the perpetrators or the cause of the revelation of the cashgate scandal. In fact, logically to infer that the fate led to the scandal, would be sound, but to state that the fate was the cause for the revelation of the cashgate scandal would be an overstatement. However, the very inconsistency of the speech by Mphwiyo raises eyebrows on whether what is circulated in the social media is true or not. In fact, his speech has only served to authenticate what rumours have all along been championing...
The speech has appealed to sympathy and failed to offer facts. The speech was greeted with cheerleaders who were less critically and probing for the truth of the saga. What I think should have been included in the interrogation are these questions. Why would you conclude that your shooting was not related to cashgate when you have no evidence of the shooters and their intentions? How could you justify the innocence of people that have long been implicated in the scandal without offering evidence, and how can you defend your sentiments as not in contempt of court as such matters of cashgate remain under investigation...
The main question would be how would you be conclusive and expect us to overwrite all issues that have been disclosed as 'nonsensical' when you are not able yourself to present tangible evidence to these matters...
Conclusion...
It would be that politics has meddled again in a case that social justice is at stake. Painlessly, this justice will come out whether through the legally sanctioned courts of Malawi, or through the ballot paper. We cannot but notice some form of invisible hand trying to dictate what is to be said and what is not to be said... What would be of priority now is information not misinformation. What puzzles me is the fact that some people seem to underrate the impact of social media in Malawi, but I believe they shall be in for a surprise...
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