REGINALD MENGI vs. ROSTAM AZIZ,
AND THE OTHER SIDE OF THE COIN
Accusation and counter accusation by self appointed corruption czars, notably Reginald Mengi and Rostam Aziz, triggered anxiety, and sent shockwave of fear, within the country’s political establishment. The melodrama demonstrated how simple a nation can be polarized. The move by the two men led to an emergence of two factions; pro Mengi vs. pro Rostam groups, with exception of a few persons refraining from taking sides.
Tanzania being in a fragile region where echoes of genocide still living, political instability, ethnic tensions and civil wars still real, one would only wonder how division and high temperatures created by two sons of the land would have unfolded could it have been in one of the neighboring countries.
We must credit our country’s national unity, because the feud between the two men, whether true patriotism and defense for the poor, political maneuver, or self interest motivated, luckily enough ended as media frenzy without any incident.
In the name of defending the little guy –poor Tanzanian- whose wealth is being looted by a few, well connected corrupt individuals, Reginald Mengi, acting as prosecutor, tabled his convincing case before the public. Mr. Mengi felt that, little was being done to bring to books the masters of grand corruption. As such he took the prosecutorial role, and named Mr. Rostam Aziz, along with others, as the sharks (grand masters) of corruption.
To counter attack, Mr. Aziz responded in style by presenting before the public his so called damning and convincing evidence that named Mr. Reginald Mengi, as the whale of corruption in the country. He supposedly, unearthed a series of economic crimes, Mr. Mengi committed to the country stretching many years back which the public was unaware of. However, the burdens of proof to either convict or to exonerate, lies in the hands of Rostam and Mengi, (prosecutor and the defendant) respectively, and vice versa
Whatever Mengi alleged or presented, were not new in the public domain. It is the painful mantra the entire country is reconciling with. Tanzanians knew of the allegations against Mr. Rostam. Whether personal vendetta was the catalyst, no one knows. As good citizens, we should give both men benefits of doubt as good sons of the land trying to exercise their patriotic and democratic duties of fighting corruption, and regard them innocent until proven guilty.
Any legal scholar or expert will agree with me that, given the resources such as legal advisers at Mr. Mengi’s disposal, he would not have taken such a bold and risky move of publicly accusing Mr. Aziz of corruption if he had no sufficient evidence to do so.,
His legal advisers would have been committing a legal crime of their own to let their client jeopardize his reputation, and Business Empire just for the sake of it. To me this was a timed and move that was well calculated to trap Mr. Aziz or at least to get him to explain previous allegations, even though Mr. Aziz never yielded instead went into offence
I am convinced that Mr. Mengi had, and still has a lot of information not known to the public, which prompted him to accuse Mr. Aziz of corruption. We must accord Mr. Mengi Justice by not accusing him of fronting his self interest. We must also credit him for being so brave to stand alone -in his battle against corruption. He has raised the bar in the fight against corruption
Under common law which is the backbone of Tanzania legal system, an ordinary citizen or organization instead of the public prosecutor, has a right to institute a private prosecution against an individual, the government and any other organization that commits crime(s) to the public.
The only prerequisites for the prosecution to proceed are the sufficiency of evidence and public interest, and a prayer that the Attorney General does not terminate the proceeding. Mr Mengi therefore, has a right to go to court for the public good if he feels and can prove that, Mr. Rostam is indeed corrupt.
Likewise Mr. Rostam, also has a right to institute private prosecution against Mr. Mengi if he feels he has enough evidence even though the statue of limitation does lean on his side; The time frame of his alleged crimes against Mr. Mengi may not stand in a court law, bearing in mind the timeframe in which the alleged crimes were committed
Despite the fact that Mr. Rostam Aziz, impressed many with his offensive capability, in which he articulated his case before the public, he left the same accusations standing. He did not explain to the public to whom he brought his case, his alleged involvement in the Kagoda, Richmond, Dowans and many others. He failed to tell the people what he knew, which is all the public wants to know
Since Mr. Aziz brought his case before the public, in the same way, using the same media, he should explain the standing, and unanswered questions haunting him; questions of grand corruption. This is the other side of the coin the public is eagerly awaiting to see. This is what many thinkers and rational people who embarked on neutrality and impartiality wanted to know before deciding on what side to follow
Even though the two men have decried victimization from each other, the other side of the coin tells a different story. The common mans side; the side of the true victim; the poor, the helpless, the tax payer whose trust, and patience have been abused and taken advantage of. He who goes to sleep with uncertainty of getting the next meal yet his wealth is sitting a foreign bank account. The public should not be inundated with nonsense, answering the main allegations remains the only issue of great importance in this conundrum of corruption
Both men need to go to court to clear their names and prove their allegations and innocence to heal the nation from the trauma of corruption. The public knows better, and is fed up with the acts of being taken advantage of. The public can no longer be blackmailed, someone must be held liable for the economic crimes
A call for the citizenry to work collectively to fight corruption is perhaps the hidden lesson in this episode, a lesson of sacrifice. This is not the work of one man amongst tens of millions of people in the country. It is not the work of state machinery; it is a collective effort that can uproot the pandemic.
Rich and poor alike, must work together. Messengers and high ranking government officials must shoulder the same responsibility. To rational people, this would perhaps, be the best lesson from the ongoing war ignited by Dr. Slaa who raised the alarm, and many people vehemently denied the allegations and lined up for long legal battles, just to end up in courts of law months later as the culprits of economic crimes. Mr. Mengi has also raised the bar, with hopes that, even those in the ruling party will team up against the sharks and hogs of corruption, who have tainted the political party millions love
Signs are bold and clearly visible on the wall for the scurrying rats on the sinking ship, who believe that those who do not subscribe to their ideological purity should be thrown under the sea. Sorry, but we are sad to say, that those days in which we were fed to the sharks and whales are coming to an end.
The perceived ideological purity is going to be defeated by the people, through the ballot and not blackmail. And this should be the motto, because we cannot be robbed and at the same time fooled by people who see themselves as saints and untouchable yet basking on the mandate of the people. The ruling party tainted by corruption must embark on immediate and serious effort of image makeover by spitting the all the persons tainted with corruption from its leadership.
Everything equal, Mr. Aziz, must be held innocent until proven guilty; in the meantime, he must come clean. Mr. Aziz, Please come forward and explain to the public how much you know about the alleged crimes against the people of Tanzania if you really love your country and your Party CCM. Save your party, and take the action NOW
Reginald Mengi, must also be honored for being sacrificial and a patriot who is ready to put his life and fortune in line for the defense of his beloved country. We must also hail him as a lone ranger and a hero for standing up to the untouchable, the corruption, and should wish him all the best in pursuit of Justice for the oppressed if indeed this is all he is up to.
Mungu Ibariki Tanzania
John Mashaka
Mashaka.john@yahoo.com
