If only Daphne Caruana Galizia had lived to see this day.

Not so she could pop open a bottle of champagne and pat herself on the back, though she would have certainly deserved it.

If only she were alive today so she could have continued her incredible work, single-handedly opening the country’s eyes to the corruption and criminality that has taken over.

The situation is desperate, she wrote the day her stalkers blew her up.

But even that didn’t silence her.

Instead it galvanised all those who supported her and, ironically, even those who doubted her.

It was a price that should have never been paid, but the truth is that her murder proved her right.

Her cowardly assassination made it clear that she was getting too close to the truth.

And each day that passed since 16th October 2017 has unravelled a new layer of that truth.

Without her murder, she might still be a voice in the wilderness, being undermined daily by the full force of people like Keith Schembri, Joseph Muscat, Adrian Delia and the politically-owned media.

Even her murder was not enough, in fact. Even that they tried to sweep under the rug.

Everything we know today would have not been unravelled were it not for the fact that her family had inherited her relentless character.

From day one her children had to be in court almost every other day, fighting against a mafia that took over the State with the clear aim of getting away with their mother’s murder.

They had to fight to keep candles lit at her memorial site.

They had to fight to get corrupt police out of the investigation.

They had to fight to get politicians to relinquish their stronghold.

And they still have to fight every day against online trolls who coldly accuse them of being responsible for her murder.

But it is not only trolls who made that claim.

Even our current Prime Minister Robert Abela had the cheek to accuse them of having a “mission to disrupt the investigation”, back in 2018, less than a year after their mother was killed.

How shameful. And how much more shameful with everything we know today, now that we know how many people were actually involved in actively disrupting the various investigations.

Today is still only the beginning of the beginning.

Keith Schembri and his associates Brian Tonna and Karl Cini were not arraigned today for the endless web of government corruption they tangled. They were arraigned for a case that goes back to 2008, five years before Labour was even elected to government.

Dozens of investigations are still to come.

But this is a start.

Keith Schembri might sleep in jail tonight.

Those who enabled him, and those who he enabled, will not sleep soundly tonight.

Hopefully they will realise it’s time to start cooperating with investigators instead of trying to cover each other’s tracks.

The time for coverups is over.

Malta can only begin to heal if all the truth is unravelled and if we learn from that truth. If we take the steps we need to take to strengthen independent journalism, to empower our institutions and to set a new standard in politics.

It’s the least we owe Daphne. And it’s the least we owe each other.

This one’s for you Daphne. Take the last word. It’s yours.

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