What about a task force to facilitate repentance?

Dear Judge Mbadwa,

Now that I hear Mapuya has resorted to ruling by decrees and task forces, I, Moze Figtree, representing irritated members of the civil society and faith community, together with Jonah Kapita of the Disgruntled Association of Consumers, seek direction from this court on how people can be taken to account for some irresponsible behaviour in pursuit of their inalienable rights.

My Lord, my background will tell you that I strongly advocate that people should take industrial action as a remedy when they feel aggrieved and when their employer is behaving like a cheating husband.

But I get worried when the rights of the employee bring to standstill life of innocent people. My Lord, the recent strike in the Nyasaland Judiciary by junior staff should be a better case study.

My Lord, I am thinking of estranged mothers and children who were punished by the strike and slept on empty stomach days on end as they failed to access regular maintenance because magistrates, judges and other relevant court officials could not work on the account of the courts. Who is going to compensate them now?

What about the loss of business because some urgent matters involving company A and B could not be handled?

Considering that one is deemed innocent until proven guilty, I am thinking of numerous people who were made to rot in police cells because they could not access court bail. My Lord, do not forget that our prosecution system, coupled with a timid and archaic investigative process, always victimises innocent people, who are usually rescued by courts.

Honourable Judge, why should lawyers and their families be denied their right to earn a rightful income because of such a strike?

My Lord, your court should rule that employees who are involved in a service delivery should always maintain skeleton staff to continue working to ensure that life continues uninterrupted for everybody not concerned.

Forgive my unorthodox thinking My Lord, but isn’t high time that support staff who work in sensitive institutions were made to take the oath of office to understand the seriousness of the nature of their work?

What has made me and my colleague write your tribunal is that most of these workers return to work with a free conscious, without even repenting of the sins they committed in making life of others miserable.

My Lord, I am not trying to bring the church into your court or the judicial system, but don’t you think it’s strange to see striking health workers, who yesterday left patients to die because they were protesting locum allowances, behaving normally as if they had not committed murder when they return to work after their demands were met?

Perhaps, your esteemed court can order Mapuya to institute a task force that will ensure that there is at least public repentance on the part of the people, who in their quest to ask for better remuneration, made life of some innocent people miserable.

I, Moze Figtree, a self-acclaimed evangelist would help in organising repentance sessions for those overzealous employees who don’t want to go to hell for their behaviour during a strike.

I know Mapuya is the kind that waits for a situation to reach a boiling point before he institutes a task force, but I think this is a good starting point.

Sincerely,

Moze Figtree.