Often we are left in ruins from decisions taken either out of malice or in such haste that the truth only arrived after an innocent man has seen the gallows. Death or acquitted from wrong accusations, exists a part of the human mind that never forgets a hurt it suffered in the cold, especially when such a harm results from the best of intentions. How long shall we kill our prophets?

Vicarious liability; a doctrine of the English tort law that imposes strict liability on employers for the wrong doings of their employees, including intentional torts such as sexual assaults and deceit takes one aback when considering the risk of employing in the first instance, especially when the employer's intention is that of raising the employee's socioeconomic fortunes.

John Salmond Williams in a preferred test of the courts, formulated some 100 years ago however held that if an employer could issue detailed prohibitions on what an employee was not to do, they could never be found vicariously liable for the wrong doings of their employees. This notwithstanding, the surrounding circumstances of wrongdoings are often important in deciding whether an act is in the course of employment or not.

Regardless of the validity of this tort, it remains short of rational consideration how disadvantaged an employer can suddenly become in the circumstance of an employee's misadventure. How does one explain punishing an employer for the traffic offence of his Driver, with the vehicle certified road worthy and up to date with servicing? Living in such interesting times as this, when people care less about the plight of others, every misfortune, rather than avail lessons have become screaming headlines intended to ridicule a victim.

Scenarios abound where employees sometimes to their employers' consternation get overzealous. "On who's orders were you acting on?" have become regular queries for employers who are often left bewildered at their employees actions, interestingly these question from the employer often leaves soothing impressions on victims of employees' overzealousness. However, for most employer-employee relationships there is yet an established boundary of engagement, which often leaves the later always craving the attention of the former.

With vicarious liability widely viewed as a window of senseless culpability to an employer for his employee's misdemeanour, every criminal action has till date remained the sole burden of the offender; everyone answers their name in criminal trials.

With citizens and supporters often left at the receiving end of security attachés and protocol aides Commando chests, there till date exists no political office holder in the country whose aide have not violated a harmless citizen, for unexplainable reasons, which sometimes border on attempts to either show superiority or protect the boss' ineptitude and unintelligence the public space.

In this regard, the recent violation episode involving Uduak Aniekan Sam, the sacked protocol Aide to the Abak Local Government Chairman and Godwin Abraham, who is reported to have been bullied and violated by the former leaves more to worry considering the circumstances that both preceded and succeeded the act, which have been widely condemned, even by worst offenders.

Away from Uduak Sam's later presumably patronized video confession, which contradicts his earlier position on the matter, the culpability of his employer; the Chairman Abak Local Government Area, Barr. Imoh Williams, still remains an unsubstantiated claim, considering the characters involved in the entire drama which according to a report from the State Police Headquarters only surfaced the internet months after the matter was considered amicably resolved.

Calling out Imoh Williams for a debt owed for services provided may have been Godwin's last resort at getting his money, but Uduak's provocation that his boss was insulted calls so much to questioning. Of the numerous internet trolls and lashes the Abak Chairman has been receiving, when did Uduak ever act in the manner he did in Godwin's case? This certainly throws up more concern as according to Uduak in one of his explanations; he has been friends with Godwin for several years.

With this in mind, there is no denying the fact that their friendship may have hit the rocks for a reason they are yet to state; Uduak in getting back at his friend, clutched on what he described as insult on Imoh Williams. A retrospective view of the incidence does not only point malice as what could have fueled the animosity, its being executed on a weekend goes a length to suggest the perpetrators' ill intent, which true to his first statement happened without Imoh William's knowledge.

The emptiness of the afterthought in the video that emerged a fortnight ago with the sacked aide speaking on the Chairman's culpability in a crime he had earlier confirmed him innocent clearly betrays rationality, spotting him as playing into the greedy antics of people who are exploiting his desperate situation for political capital. One in this case need not look far from the circle that promoted the said confession video to arrive at the motives of those behind it.

Leaning on Uduak Sam's official briefs as a Protocol Aide, it is unarguably tenable that Imoh Williams is free of the vicarious liability of his Aide's action, since the said aide had a clearly defined line of engagement, which differs from settling the council helmsman's scores. This however calls to mind the need for employers to keep an eye on the character and reputation of people in their employ to avoid the embarrassment of their untoward activities.

Too much for politics, but while the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly continue investigations on the matter, with Abak people anticipating Imoh Williams' return to office as Council Chairman, public office holders and politically exposed persons had better looked inwards to ensure they are not keeping Aides who will dent the integrity and image they have built over time.

This is time for people regardless of social inclinations to device means of either respecting the opinion of others or legally seeking redress where necessary, to help our society replace brute force and violations with civil engagements that would uphold the sanctity of the human lives and admit us as a sane clime.

"...Let anyone who thinks he is standing take heed lest he falls" I Corinthians 10:12. We must not dignify the faint whispers of blackmails and half-truths over the deafening echoes of rational thoughts. By Uduak Sam's earlier account of how events evolved, it could have been anyone.

Samuel Ayara writes from Ibong Otoro in Abak Local Government Area.

http://ibomstrokes.com/imoh-williams-ills-of-leadership-and-the-rest-of-us

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