At school, we were taught that democracy is the best political system ever devised by man.
Under democracy, the people decide who should run their affairs. They do this through the vote.
At a given interval, the people would go to the polls and decide the fate of the mighty, and the aspirant. The people who enjoy this power need not be educated. They need not be rich. Nor do they have to be clean. Illiterate, poor and dirty as they are they hold the power to elect and remove governments.
They can hire and fire politicians.
Ultimately, we were taught that democracy is the best system because it means government for the people, by the people. We used to feel very educated reciting this mantra.
We felt secure that our country was a democracy and we the people, in the form of our parents, were in charge of the country because we could decide who to fire or hire.
I could not wait for the day when I too would come of age and partake in major decisions such as voting for the government of the people by the people. This democracy thing sounded so good I also nursed ambitions of someday putting myself before the people so as to make big decisions affecting their lives as part of the government.
Since my schooldays I have exercised complete fidelity to democracy. I do not admire countries where they dabble in forms of government that are far removed from democracy. I have never had any interest in such systems. I wonder what their schoolchildren are taught.
To me, nothing beats a government of the people by the people. This system is also wonderful for other reasons. In a democracy the government does what the people want.
Fully aware that the people can vote them out, those in charge must do our bidding, or else they go home.
Sometimes the government refuses to do our bidding because it thinks it knows better than us. This often happens with governments that think they will always receive the vote of the people.
Of course, such governments always wake up when it is too late. They come to their senses when the people have made a critical decision. It always ends in tears for any government that forgets it exists for the people by the people.
I am raising this issue because it is high time the government of the day did what the people want. I will be honest enough to admit I have not done any scientific survey. But from chatting to my friends, and eavesdropping on other conversations, it is clear what the people want.
It is time the people were listened to and their interests given priority.
You see for some time now the people have been calling for public executions.
They have a point.
They say they doubt if condemned prisoners are ever executed. I agree with them. For as long as I have lived, I have never seen any evidence that executions are actually carried out in this country. Not a single person can attest to any execution.
What we get is an announcement over the radio that someone on death row has been hanged without anything to prove it. The authorities cannot even publish a photo of the man swinging on his rope.
Surely they can record the chap begging for mercy as he is led to the execution chamber. They can record the priest giving grace and the sound of the trapdoor crashing open as the murderer hurtles down.
This would amount to a soundtrack of an execution and it can be played on radio so that we the doubters are put in our place, once and for all.
In any case, advances have been made in audio visual technology. Why can’t executions be beamed live on television?
If the execution happens at a time when children are still watching, the whole thing can be recorded for a delayed late night broadcast.
I mean, if the execution of a great man like Saddam was beamed on television why can’t we do the same with lowlifes? In fact, the reason why some people are now opposed to the death penalty is because they believe it is a gigantic fraud. They are convinced no executions ever take place and for this reason there is no reason to carry on with the scam.
Exactly what I think.
Our logic is, if condemned inmates are actually executed, then why not do it in public? Just think of the families of those who have lost loved ones and yet remain in the dark as to whether the murderer has been executed or not? It is unfair that our tax money is used to feed murderers who become plump and glow with contentment from eating hotel food. How come when people are free and have not committed murder , they struggle on cheap food like the rest of us, but the moment they are condemned they eat hotel food?
For its own benefit, the government must be told that the people, who own the very government, are unhappy at what they see as the pampering of death row inmates.
Instead of toiling in the fields like other prisoners, they spend all their time singing gospel songs in the shower, after which they dine on fine hotel food.
At the rate things are going, they will be allowed to drink expensive whisky soon. And that is if it is not already happening.
Anyway, as they say everything has a beginning.
I don’t think it is too late for the government to live up to what we used to recite at school. Public executions must commence immediately.
The question is who to start with?
I don’t know how many inmates are currently languishing on death row. However, I am aware of an infamous inmate who loves the outdoors.
Recently the country was abuzz with the incredible story of the death row prisoner who made a dash for freedom and for fifteen minutes enjoyed the fresh outdoor air which is the preserve of law abiding citizens.
There is no doubt our man would do anything to be outdoors. So let us start with him. I don’t think he will voice any objection. It is also a win-win scenario. The government of the people by the people will do what the people want by mounting a public execution. The condemned man will be somebody who loves being out in public as shown by his recent bid to enjoy the outdoors.
So I say let’s execute Modise Mokwadi Fly in public!
