Since the Horse Shoe Steakhouse scandal broke late November, I have been
holding my reservations on commenting about it. This is one that I had decided
not to put out a public statement because I did not know the full facts. Mika
Mwambazi accused the owners of being racist after she claims to have witnessed
an employee being abused. She then went on social media to share her disgust
accompanied by the hashtag #ShutDownHorseShoe. Well the latest on this is that
the Minister of Labour Joyce Simukoko has stated that there is no racism at the
Horse Shoe Restaurant and that Mika Mwambazi should be arrested. I have an
issue with both statements.
According to the report made by Lusaka Times, the minister
said that investigations revealed that there was no racism at the Horse Shoe
Restaurant. Wait a minute, the term investigation means a formal or systematic
examination or research according to the Oxford dictionary. However, the information
released by the press is that many teams from the Ministry of Labour were sent
to the affected area to investigate the matter. It would have been great to
know what constituted the investigation. Did they talk to the staff? Did they
interview the owner? Did they inquire with the people who complained on social
media? The people who signed the Shut Down Horse Shoe petition? Did they go
with hidden camera? Did they interrogate Mika Mwambazi? Did they use a
polygraph test? How did they go about this investigation? Getting to understand
how the investigation was under taken would help the public appreciate the
conclusion that was arrived at that there was no racism. By the way it is not
like racism is packaged in a bottle that can be found on a shelf.
Mrs. Simukuko also stated that racism is as bad as tribalism
as it can breed into war. Now even though I recognise the gravity of racism,
the minister’s statement was out of context and unnecessary. I do not see any
relation between the Horse Shoe incident and how a war could come into the
picture. It is an issue of discrimination at most which must be dealt with. The
minister took time to meet with the Horse Shoe management and the workers, but
it does not mention her meeting Mika Mwambazi. If she did meet her I would have
liked to know what was discussed. However, it seems unlikely they met because
the minister has ordered her arrest.
I am not a legal expert and I would like my readers to
educate me on this one. What right does a minister have to demand the arrest of
a citizen? Shouldn’t that be the jurisdiction of the police or the courts? If a
minister can command the arrest of someone who genuinely believed that an injustice
was being done, what assurances are being given that another person who
complains does not risk being jailed. Mika may not have used the right channels
to address this matter yet it does not by any means warrant the accusation of
her alarming the nation. It was probably only people on social media who were
aware of it. I am certain my uncle in Nega Nega did not hear of this.
This case has a lot of learning points. Arguably the most
important of them all is to have evidence to back up any claims or accusations
you make. Imagine if Mika had used the video camera on her phone to film the
alleged worker being abused. This case would have been closed a long time ago.
We have Facebook Live so “racism” can be filmed live now. Secondly, I will
consider writing to Santa to give the management of Horse Shoe all the seasons
of Scandal. They need to learn a thing or two from Olivia Pope on how to handle
stuff. This situation should never have reached the levels that it did. This was an utter mess.
How do you think this issue should have been handled?
