Aren’t these title deeds illegal

BY Tanzanian standards, to own a billion-or-two houses (castles) one must be a mega billionaire even a ’trillionaire’. Have we ever asked ourselves how people who present title deeds worth billions made their wealth whilst our hoi polloi are cascading to penury?

Recently, there occurred an incident that left me shocked.
Some elders in one tribe were renowned for their folly and empty headiness. Animal rustlers came and stole their cattle in which case some people were felled defending their cattle. When the thieves were caught and presented to the elders’ court, they asked for bail by presenting the same cows they stole as their security, and the elders blindly accepted this abuse!

Given that the said elders were goons, nobody wondered why this happened.

Legally, I’ve no right to discuss what is before the court. Nonetheless I can discuss related matters. In this regard, I shall nary divulge the names of the characters in this discussion. We recently witnessed some ’sharks’ being hauled to court for abusing their powers (though sadly, not for obtaining money illegally)!

No one knows why the authorities did not prefer to bring charges related to obtaining wealth illegally. Anyway, we shall know one day.

Legally, whatever is obtained illegally, is illegally abnitio. Therefore, a person facing charges of theft cannot be given bail by t means of presenting stolen item or items even if the said items were not stolen from the complainant. In a simple parlance you cannot steal a car and use it to obtain bail in the same case or another in which case the said is supposed to be an exhibit. This is illegal even if it is committed by the high and mighty.

True, the item or items presented to court for the purpose of obtaining bail must be legal and obtained legally. Though the court is not an ambulance chaser, shall doubts be raised, the court shall disregard using the property for the purpose intended until proved otherwise.

Now that being the legal and logic position, how ignorant are the authorities to overlook such kind of technicalities?

Going back to our ’sharks’ facing charges with regards to defecating on their offices and oaths, is it legal for them to be granted bail by means of suspicious property even if they are influential? Circumstantially, those title deeds in point stand for properties obtained by means of abusing power and other corrupt means so to speak.

Well, why didn’t the authorities (if indeed were sincere and serious) attach (or consider to) properties owned by the culprits.
Is this why some people believe that what is going on is abracadabra or stage shows aiming at cheap popularity? Are we fighting corruption?corruptly Why are we turning a blind eye to such important questions such as, are properties in question legal, culprits’ or public’s?

Aren’t such properties exhibits supposed to be detained by the court in lieu of being used to secure bail? Does it mean our courts and government do not know this? What should we do to make sure that those responsible to look at things the way they are, instead of what they are, are made to do look like?

Once again, are these side shows? Many people are celebrating the victory over fisadis prematurely! Why don’t we demand explanation and assurance that justice is to be seen being done first? Is this the right way things are supposed to be done? Why shouldn’t one doubt if the history says: No minister has ever been charged and convicted? Instead, they win and end up being redressed for being harassed and their reputation injured! Ulaji ndani ya ulaji! Just why are we not attacking suspicious wealth and add more counts related with economic sabotage.

The Father of the Nation, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, served for over three decades. But he died unworthy of a billion shillings. He did not even own a house of a half value of these tendered in court recently.

Well, how did those that we saw recently become such overnight billionaires? Why don’t we probe them and use their houses as 'exhibits'?

Why don’t we take these properties until proved otherwise, if indeed we mean business as far as fighting corruption is concerned? Are we frying a fish using its own fat’?

We need to ask many questions. How did these guys make such wealth without breaking or bending any law or rule? How much wealth, on top of the one we saw, do they have? Where is this wealth and for how long did they make it?

Do they legally pay tax? Did they declare their wealth as per the requirements of public service code? How much money do they have in their accounts?

When we answer these questions, no doubt, our war against corruption will become meaningful and worthwhile.

We need the whole history pertaining to the business or jobs these guys did and the time spent to amass such wealth. What is their expenditure and so on?

I was shocked when I heard that some people live in houses worth billions in this begging nation. I went as far as doubting even their so-called well-wishers who bailed them out. Are they clean really? Who wants to know this? Aren’t they agents for big cheeses? Aren’t they drug-barons or thugs? We need to ask many questions so as to erase doubts. By answering these questions, among others, we’ll be able to convince our hoi polloi that indeed this war is theirs and real. Failure to do this is but abracadabra and changa la macho.

Can I surmise averring that we be given the answers to the above questions.? Also, we should stop trusting each other at this trying time. This is not the time for trusting each other blindly. We need to ask time and again. How these guys printed billions without breaking the law?
Let's think twice and deeply.
Source:Thisday December 9, 2008.