Lutepo vs JB: Who to believe?

Honourable Folks,

ever since Oswald Lutepo came out and implicated former president Joyce Banda in the Cashgate, the reaction has generally been dismissive.

JB herself was quick to see in Lutepo a mercenary being used by her political enemies in government to use Cashgate to nail her.

She has been there and possibly knew from experience how gullible some citizens can be when the prize is mouth-watering.

Other citizens are simply put off by Lutepo’s narrative on Cashgate with so many dispenses and contradictions when he should simply have said: “Sorry, I stole your billions and you suffered excruciating poverty and deprivation as a result. Pray that my soul doesn’t burn in hell.”

Cashgater Tressa Senzani chose not to waste time and whatever remained of our resources by playing hide-and-seek with the truth. She simply said in court: “Guilty, my Lord” and got a three-year jail term for fleecing the government in excess of K60 million, a much lighter sentence than what some petty thief got for stealing a goat worth less than K20 000!

But Lutepo should be commended, not condemned, for making his allegations against the former president in the court of public opinion. Apart from exercising his right to freedom of expression, he’s put the pressure on JB to clear her name if she knows what’s good for her legacy and political career.

Her argument that Lutepo is lying because her name wasn’t on the Baker Tilly report is laughable if only because it’s omission there fits in Lutepo’s line of story. He said he served as a conduit (meaning it’s his fingerprint you’ll see) but not all the loot ended up in his pockets because there’s a boss he was serving. According to him, that boss is JB.

This is the same Lutepo who, while on the wanted list and after the law enforcers had indicated they would engage Interpol to help nick him abroad where he reportedly was at the material time, he returned to what the media described as “red-carpet treatment” passing through airport checks and only handed himself over to the police at his own chosen time. Nobody explained why.

This is the same Lutepo who donated 20 brand new vehicles to JB’s People’s Party while serving in the executive of the party. Nobody questioned where in this miserable economy that money was coming from. He was only left on his own when the media exposed the billions he managed to loot from government through OPC.

So, when he says he was a mere humble servant of the former president, the latter should realise that denying it isn’t enough. She vehemently resisted declaring (as in making public) her wealth when she became the head of State and government.

Instead, she displayed the opulence of a multi-millionaire in dollar terms—building houses; distributing motorcycles, maize, flour, goats and dairy cows to many throughout the country.

On some of her trips abroad, especially to the US, she would take along chiefs, friends, relatives and political cronies, paying for their flight and long stay in Manhattan. She donated so much to charity and her political cause. Unless money grows on trees like oranges at the State House, JB rebuttal should include the source of the wealth she distributed like Santa in the two years she served as president.

Don’t blame Lutepo for not having the patience to wait for his day in court. He’s there to answer charges made by the State. These charges are about his alleged involvement in Cashgate and not the alleged involvement of JB in Cashgate.

Again, imagine the State dragging JB to court on corruption charges when it has all along stagnated on Bakili Muluzi’s K1.7 billion case? Imagine putting JB on trial when the same government is doing nothing about the revelation that the late Bingu wa Mutharika amassed K61 billion assets during the eight years he served as president!

Talk about the fear of exposing one’s own soft underbelly!

Which is why Lutepo’s allegations are welcome. If anything, they’ll help us make informed decisions should JB dare seek our votes in 2019 before clearing her name.