Why are we being subjected to this circus?

REVELATIONS that the State has been told to pay the legal costs of controversial businessman, Wicknell Chivayo is not only unsettling, but so upsetting that we call on our Justice ministry to crack the whip on its prosecutors.

The reason the State has been ordered by the High Court to pay Chivayo's legal costs is because State attorneys botched up an appeal to the Supreme Court after the High Court had acquitted the businessman following a trial in which he was accused of defrauding the Zimbabwe Power Company of $5,6 million.

In acquitting Chivayo in March, the High Court said: "Apart from being suggestive of a skirmish, a mere witch hunt and a fishing expedition, tells more of a hidden hand or mala fides intention in the institution of the criminal proceedings brought about by the State in the circumstances."

Then after this damning observation and low regard of our State prosecution, the State attorneys went on to file a shoddy appeal against that ruling, which has resulted in the courts ordering the State to pay for Chivayo's troubles. It boggles the mind how State prosecutors continue to be outwitted in some of these high-profile cases?

Could it because of the fact that like all other civil servants their earnings have been seriously eroded? Then when those tasked with the role to protect the fabric of society fail, government must immediately self-introspect. The situation can nolonger be viewed as normal. A complete relook at the anti-graft fight is in order and certainly the whole judiciary must be looked into.

This is the umpteenth time that we have witnessed jaw-dropping blundering by our State prosecution to the extent that many may be forgiven for suspecting that there could be some conspiracies happening there. These blunders fly in the face of government's pronounced efforts to fight graft.

And when high profile cases such as that of Chivayo not only dismally fail, but end up costing the taxpayer, then something urgent needs to be done to arrest this continuing embarrassment.

Why should we continue being subjected to such circuses and outright mockery of our intelligence? This is not only an insult, but completely shutters all our hopes that corruption charges against any big fish or rich person will ever be made to stick.

The rich and the politically connected cannot be held to account, it seems.
We keep scratching our heads to recall any high profile person ever being successfully prosecuted for corruption. Obviously the poor performance of our State prosecutors is undoubtedly a chief reason why alleged fraudsters have walked away scot-free. And they keep getting away with murder.

Is it a coincidence that many crooks, with their well-documented malfeasance keep walking away or there is something deeper going on? It cannot be that the State only has dimwits employed to ensure that those who committed crimes are successfully made to account to society.

Or maybe the poor salaries of all those in the State's employ is a much more determining factor? Can the anti-corruption unit investigate? Oh, wait… The poor are now too exposed and the Zanu-PF regime must up its ante.