Private legal practitioner and journalist Samson Lardy Anyenini says no individual, no matter how powerful, can be placed above the laws of the Republic.
Reacting to recent public discussions following the Office of the Special Prosecutor's declaration of a former finance minister as wanted and placing him on INTERPOL's red list, he rejected suggestions that the trial could or should proceed in his absence. "Arrest, detention, and restriction are globally accepted means of enforcing law and order," he stated. "When you offend or breach public law, you encounter the Republic." He said the law is not a matter for personal discretion or private negotiation. "It is not a private legal matter left to two individuals to decide how to remedy a breach of contract," he wrote.
Mr Anyenini made clear that in every functioning legal system, there is a clear and established procedure for dealing with criminal conduct. "The law does not allow me the option to hit and run, nor does it permit charges to be filed in my absence, never in the first instance," he argued.
He drew parallels with basic offences to drive home his point. "If I break a traffic regulation, hit and kill someone, the Republic deals with me," he said. "If I am fortunate enough not to have harmed anyone in the process, the Republic may restrict my driving, require me to attend a refresher course, or undergo counselling-all in the interest of protecting others." The host of Newsfile was emphatic that public safety demands due process. "If I threaten, assault my neighbours, or engage in acts that endanger them, including environmental and economic crimes such as illegal mining and corruption, the State will not allow me to roam freely," he said. "We do not live in a jungle where the strongest survive." He warned against mob justice or emotional responses to criminal matters. "My neighbours must not resort to vigilante justice-stoning my house or car, or attempting to kill me simply because they can." Instead, he stressed the role of structured law enforcement. "The proper course of action is for me to be arrested, detained, or restricted by the police, always under the supervision of a court," he wrote.
