IN JUSTICE: The Rise of Ralph

It's not yet been three weeks since Malawi's new president, Joyce Banda, put together her cabinet of government ministers. Since then she's received a mixture of reviews for the appointments she made. While some have praised her for unifying a polarized nation by forming a government akin to a coalition made up of leaders from different political parties, others have criticized her for weakening the balancing voice of opposition parties  by bringing their brightest stars into the business of governing. While some have applauded her for purging cabinet of the lawless  individuals who attempted to circumvent the constitution to block her from being sworn in as Head of State, others have expressed disappointment that the new cabinet still another consortium of individuals who are products of the same political establishment that Malawians have lost faith in. While some have marveled at her prudence in appointing to cabinet people who are also members of parliament, others have lamented the compromise this makes to the wisdom of separating the government's executive powers from the powers of the legislature.

Now to this last critique one cabinet appointment stands as an exception: Honorable Ralph Kasambara, the president's choice for the dual function of Attorney General and Minister of Justice. Kasambara is no stranger to public office, having already served as Malawi's Attorney General in the first administration of the late former President, Bingu Wa Mutharika, with whom Ralph eventually found himself at odds, accusing him of wanting to be a dictator and of committing such gross abuses of office as to warrant impeachment. Nor is Kasambara a stranger to public controversy, having taken on the challenge of being the legal representative for Joyce Banda at a time when, as Malawi's elected Vice-President, Banda had found herself estranged from and ostracized by a President determined to punish her for her opposition to his plans to sidestep democracy and anoint his own younger brother as his successor. And Kasambara is no stranger to political persecution either, his vocal attacks on President Bingu's presidency having finally earned him a Valentine's Day visit by police officers sent to arrest him on the trumped up charge of kidnapping a group of thugs whom he and his security guards had succeeded in subduing and preventing from destroying his office with petrol bombs on what are suspected to have been orders from the highest corridors of political power to silence him...for good.  But Kasambara is now the only cabinet minister who is a stranger to parliament; the only one who cannot exercise both the powers of executive government and the powers of legislative government. And while this distance from the house of law-makers, plus the injustices he himself suffered at the hands of an abusive government should make him the ideal candidate for Attorney General and Minister of Justice, there is a looming conflict of interest that threatens Ralph Kasambara's effectiveness in that office. 

Will he ruthlessly scrutinize how far-reaching into parliament the corruption of Bingu's government was, or will he turn a partial blind eye to it for fear that such a probe would implicate members of parliament who are now part of Joyce Banda's cabinet? Will he pursue justice to its end for Robert Chasowa, the young college student activist who was brutally murdered and whose murder was played down by police as a suicide, or will he dispatch another fruitless commission of enquiry for fear that a proper investigation may lead to the arrest of high ranking figures in the former ruling party, thus running the risk of making President Joyce Banda look like another collector of political prisoners? Will he make heads roll for the death of 20 protesters at the hands of armed police back in July, 2011, or should he give the guilty officers a pass for fear of squandering what little support President Joyce Banda may have in the ranks of a police force that answered to a master who was hostile to her for months? Will he insist that Cassim Chilumpha have his day in court to answer to charges of treason brought against him when he was the country's Vice-President, or will he play judge and jury and let it go because President Joyce Banda has just appointed Chilumpha to a cabinet post? Will he start ordering the arrest of those cabinet ministers, parliamentarians, and judges who conspired to take over government unconstitutionally after President Bingu's sudden death on April 5, or will he restrain his horses of justice out of concern that justice may mean taking down ministers who have since pledged their support and allegiance to President Joyce Banda and her party? Will he trace the source of the inexplicable wealth accumulated by the late former President and his officials, and will he hunt down those responsible for robbing the country blind and selling it's resources to the highest bidder in the shape of Mulli, or will he slow the wheels of justice for fear of digging up fraudulent transactions that may have been done way back when both he and Joyce Banda were still in the inner circles of Bingu's government?

It seems to me that for all the calls for justice that will require the summoning of the best parts of his character, credentials, and charisma, Ralph Kasambara's greatest challenge in bringing guilty people to justice is not the number or significance of the individuals who need to be brought to justice. His greatest hindrance is not even anything parliamentarians may offer him to compromise his pursuit for justice, for he has the benefit of being the only cabinet minister who is not a member of their club. His greatest hindrance in the pursuit of justice will probably be the woman she answers to, namely President Joyce Banda herself, for she has as many people to appease as she has to avenge, and she has the prerogative of calling on the young Minister of Justice to do both. This, combined with Ralph Kasambara's own need to appease a new president and urge to avenge for both his and her past political adversities, only exacerbates the conflict of interest. And if Ralph Kasambara turns out to be no more than an avenger or appeaser, then the nation will be left with a General who is no longer worthy of being an Attorney and a Minister who is no longer a dispenser of Justice. The only way for him to avoid such a tragedy is to take lightly the political scruples of the powerful woman we call President, and take seriously the deafening cries of the more powerful woman we call Malawi.