You’re wrong, Mr Prime Minister: there isn’t even a bill of indictment yet

The prime minister has ordered an inquiry into the matter of (former) police inspector Daniel Zammit’s involvement with Joe Gaffarena at a time when he was investigating, as the prosecutor, Gaffarena’s son-in-law for murdering Gaffarena’s daughter’s lover, Neville Baldacchino.

The inquiry is led by recently retired judge Michael Mallia, who has four weeks to complete it.

In its statement announcing the inquiry, the government “noted” that “the investigation and prosecution were carried out in the last legislature”.

How wrong that is. The investigation, inquiry and prosecution are still on-going, which is exactly why this whole thing is such a mess. Daniel Zammit was the prosecutor right up until the day he left the force some weeks ago.

The main purpose of the inquiry, as Judge Mallia will immediately understand but the prime minister pretends not to, will be to assess whether there is any connection between the investigator/prosecutor’s involvement with the murderer’s father-in-law and the fact that the murderer has not yet been placed under a bill of indictment (the starting-point for the trial and actual prosecution) SIX AND A HALF YEARS after the murder was committed in December 2008.

The file is now in the Attorney-General’s office and before this brouhaha broke out, he had until 12th July to decide whether the inquiry should continue or end there with the next step, moving for a bill of indictment.

The prime minister’s tu quoque response is completely out of order, additionally, because it fails to factor in the corrupt inspector’s equally corrupt father, Ray ‘Il-Mulej’ Zammit, who was appointed acting Commissioner of Police by Joseph Muscat’s government, and more specifically, by Joseph Muscat’s absolutely dreadful choice of Police Minister, Manuel Mallia.

The prime minister has said nothing about Ray Zammit, or whether Judge Mallia has been briefed to investigate him too. But I can’t see how Judge Mallia can conduct a proper and conclusive inquiry without investigating the lot of them – father and two sons – and also investigate Manuel Mallia (who will lie through his teeth) to work out the extent of his involvement with them.

For involvement there most certainly is.

The prime minister, or at least his Police Minister, should also inform the public about what is to become of the other corrupt son, Roderick Zammit, who is still a police inspector though he has been put out on extended sick leave. Will he be sacked from the force, or will he be bought out because of what he knows?