Most corrupt leaders use intimidation to protect their selfish interests but more often than not their plans do not succeed.”Write an essay in support of the statement using ilustrations from The Samaritan by John Lara.

 “Most corrupt leaders use intimidation to protect their selfish interests but more often than not their plans do not succeed.”Write an essay in support of the statement using ilustrations from The Samaritan by John Lara.

Corruption thrives on fear, and many corrupt leaders use intimidation to silence those who expose them. In The Samaritan, leaders such as Mayor Mossi and Inspector Bembe attempt to protect their selfish interests through threats, fabricated charges, and violence. However, the victims’ reactions — courage, resistance, and persistence — show that intimidation does not succeed in the long run.

Bembe intimidates Nicole over the Samaritan App (pp. 73 & 93). Bembe storms into Nicole’s office claiming that many accusations have been brought against her and that he has come to arrest her. He orders her to delete all posts that portray Mayor Mossi negatively, arguing that the App is damaging the administration. When Nicole refuses, insisting that she has a moral duty to do what is right and not obey blindly, Bembe escalates his intimidation. He threatens that powerful people are fighting back and will destroy her life, accuses her falsely of being linked to a murder and of stealing a school generator, and finally arrests her to scare her into submission. Nicole refuses to be cowed. She warns him against fabricating charges and maintains her innocence.She insists that the Samaritan App is not dangerous since it helps to fight environmental degradation by exposing the culprits.It also exposes those who supply air to the Municipal Council instead of goods and services.It also helps to obtain information on criminal gangs.Her arrest sparks public outrage; thousands gather at court. Justice Jaden dismisses the case for lack of evidence, and Bembe is humiliated and summoned to headquarters. His plan to intimidate Nicole fails completely.

Secondly, Mayor Mossi intimidates Nicole and Ms Narine during the attempted launch of the Samaritan App at Sagrada Secondary School (p.17). After a skit by Alvita, Montano and Nicole, Mossi declines to launch the app, claiming it may become a platform for misinformation, lies and witch-hunting.The truth is that the App exposed the rot in Maracas Municipality. He orders Nicole and Ms Narine to halt all activities related to the app until his office gives further guidance. When Ms Narine informs him that the President is scheduled to officially launch the app nationally, Mosii insists that the app is merely a school project under municipal control and suggests that Ms Narine should write to the Ministry of Education alleging that there are “fundamental errors” in it. Nicole explains that the app was assessed by senior ministry officials and experienced software engineers and found to have no errors, but Mossi raises his voice and boasts that he was elected by hundreds of thousands of people and that his authority supersedes that of education officials. He orders Nicole to write a letter expressing reservations about the app and threatens consequences if she disobeys, even pointing at her with his walking stick and giving her one hour to comply. Later, he visits Nicole again and repeats his threats, warning both her and Ms Narine that they will be in serious trouble if his orders are ignored. Their reaction is resistance: Nicole refuses to lie and says she will do what is right, while Ms Narine supports her and affirms that Nicole does not compromise her principles. Eventually, the Ministry responds through the principal that the school has no further role in the app and that any concerns should be referred directly to the Minister’s office, while a joint team from the Ministry and the President’s Office takes over preparations for the national launch. This outcome proves that Mossi’s intimidation fails, since the app proceeds to national level despite his threats and abuse of authority, as shown in The Samaritan.

Later, Mayor Mossi intimidates Nicole for the second time after pretending to apologise to her (pp. 58–73) in The Samaritan. He summons her and behaves in a friendly manner, claiming that he wants peace and even pretending to support the Samaritan App. To win her trust, he exposes the corrupt dealings of Municipal Council officials such as Ted and Seymour, revealing how they steal public funds and sabotage development. His real intention, however, is to manipulate Nicole into helping him protect his image. After gaining her confidence, he orders her to clear all negative posts about him from the Samaritan App, especially those linking him to corruption. This shows his hypocrisy because he pretends to be remorseful while secretly trying to censor the truth. Nicole’s reaction is firm resistance: she tells him that she is not the administrator of the Samaritan App and therefore cannot delete the posts. Mossi then becomes hostile again and warns her that she will face serious consequences if she disobeys him. This proves that his apology is fake and that he uses intimidation and deception to safeguard his corrupt leadership.

Ted and Seymour try to intimidate Mayor Mosii by threatening him with a vote of no confidence unless he sets aside money to protect them from corruption charges after their companies are exposed on the Samaritan App for billing the Municipal Council without providing services. Newspapers and social media publish indisputable evidence, sending them into panic as they fear prosecution and imprisonment in Baneta Prison. They suggest banning the app, but Jaden warns that this will only increase public interest. Seymour proposes raising money to fight investigators, lawyers, prosecutors and judges and even “deal” with those who pursue them, and suggests illegally reallocating money from the Municipal Fund using the poor waste disposal system as justification. Mosii resists, saying the law only allows spending under an Appropriation Act and reminding them that they earlier forced him into misallocating funds for allowances and loans. When Ted and Seymour threaten to mobilise councillors against him, their plan fails because Mosii becomes stubborn and refuses to approve the illegal estimates, saying it will only happen over his dead body. The quarrel escalates as Mosii threatens Seymour with arrest and boasts that he can make them “see real smoke,” while Ted claims they helped him get elected and can remove him. Mosii, Bembe and Harvest then mobilise the Red Eagle network, the Ghettoboyz and undercover police to block the vote of no confidence. Mosii finally disrupts the meeting violently by unleashing brutal hooligans.

In The Samaritan, corrupt leaders use intimidation to protect their selfish interests through threats and abuse of power. However, these schemes fail. Thi shows that fear cannot defeat truth and accountability.