By Dunstain Fipamutima Mwaungulu (Ba Mtikatiika CENTRE FOR LAW AND POLICY
I have very conceptual difficulties with the inquiry! In my view, the inquiry was skewed in its TORS and mainly aimed at answering questions raised by the public. The question before all of us is whether there was culpability, civil or criminal, on the facts as ascertained! The inquiry failed to address the question and quickly preempted the discourse by trying to blame the deceased, who cannot refute anything, and a Principal Secretary, who was very incompetent to assess the risks posed by what we all know now was a decadent aeroplane! If we accept this fact which, as we can decipher from the tenor of the report, the decisions by Chilima, the deceased, and the Principal Secretary, should just be a footnote, to the culpability of the Commander -in -chief and the Home Affairs Minister for being the primary cause of the events! In my opinion, there is criminal or civil culpability on the commander – in chief and the Minister responsible for the security of the President! But the effect of this Commission of Inquiry was to preempt the necessary inquiries that should be made on this matter.
I would, therefore, shift the inquiry to the National Assembly, to exercise their oversight powers and put the Commander – in – chief and the policy makers – in allowing this decadent aircraft in allowing to use this plane that, as we know, for use by the Commander in chief or the Vice President at the risks which ended in this tragedy! The principle of unintended consequence from (security) decisions apply here! And this Commission of Inquiry was, in my judgment, amateurish in handling a national disaster of a humongous serious consequences.
In addition to the legislature’s the Attorney General and the Ministry of Justice should still pursue criminal and civil culpability! Because, even on the brute facts, from this report criminal and civil culpability is very very likely! It puts into the limelight the failure of the legislature to address the lapse in the legislature – the President and the National Assembly – to address the security and defence of this country in preparedness! If this plane crashes where there was no war what use would have been this plane if we were at war?
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