Why We Must Shield Our Public Institutions From the Lawless Arena of Digital Forgery.
By Lengwe Cornelius Bwalya
There is a growing, troubling trend in our national discourse that threatens the very bedrock of our democracy, the weaponization of unverified social media fabrications designed to dismantle the reputations of dedicated public servants.
This practice does not merely constitute a series of isolated political attacks. It represents a direct, coordinated assault on institutional integrity, orchestrated by individuals who have consistently failed to achieve their objectives through legitimate legal and democratic channels.
A prime and deeply concerning example of this phenomenon is the recent, thoroughly debunked allegation leveled against State House Legal Advisor Christopher Mundia. In a calculated attempt to stir public outrage, detractors circulated a fabricated letter falsely accusing Mundia of directing our state utility company, ZESCO, to misapply millions of Kwacha to manage a political narrative.
To understand the sudden wave of animosity directed toward Christopher Mundia, one must look closely at the stark contrast between his professional track record and that of his loudest critics.
Mundia is not a political creation or an overnight sensation. He is an accomplished, elite legal practitioner whose career has been meticulously defined by substantive courtroom victories.
Throughout his tenure, he has successfully navigated complex constitutional, civil and state matters. His arguments are never built on social media rhetoric, they are constructed on jurisprudence, meticulous evidence and a deep, unyielding respect for the rule of law.
Christopher Mundia has earned his position at the highest level of state advisory through a proven history of winning landmark cases that have actively strengthened our nation’s legal frameworks.The strategy of Mundia’s detractors is born out of professional and legal frustration.
Those leading the charge against him have repeatedly attempted to challenge state decisions and legal interpretations where they belong in an open court of law. However, when measured by the strict standards of judicial scrutiny, these critics have failed to secure a single meaningful courtroom victory.
Faced with a consecutive string of humbling legal defeats, these actors have made a desperate choice. They have abandoned the courtroom where facts, precedents and concrete evidence dictate outcomes and have instead retreated to the lawless arena of social media fabrication. They operate under the cynical hope that sensational headlines and forged letters will accomplish what their legal teams utterly failed to achieve before a judge.
Character assassination must never become a substitute for legal debate. When individuals manufacture malicious stories of corruption without a shred of evidence, they do not just harm the individual in the crosshairs. They erode public trust in governance and the essential utility companies that serve our citizens daily. Christopher Mundia’s standing as an upright citizen and an elite legal mind remains firmly intact because truth is inherently resilient to poorly constructed fabrications.
However, as a society, we must look at the moral character of this issue. We cannot afford to remain passive spectators. The public must remain fiercely vigilant, rejecting the desperate tactics of those who use falsehoods to compensate for their own lack of merit, competence and legal standing. Let us protect the integrity of our institutions and demand that those who wish to argue, do so with facts in our courts, not with forgeries on our feeds.
About the Author:
Lengwe Cornelius Bwalya is an International Relations and security expert, a career diplomat and political analyst
Why We Must Shield Our Public Institutions From the Lawless Arena of Digital Forgery
