Tinashe Makichi
HARARE – MDC Alliance president Nelson Chamisa has warned of protests across the country after a Constitutional Court ruling declared Emmerson Mnangagwa as the duly elected leader of Zimbabwe. This comes as MDC Alliance refused to accept what it termed the unjust ruling from the highest Court of the country.
The opposition party insists that Chief Justice Luke Malaba was unfair and had, from the beginning, shown no interest in affording Chamisa a fair hearing. This had been shown through his refusal of the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission server subpoena without considering it and without any legal basis.
Addressing media at the party headquarters in Harare today, Chamisa said the political alliance accepts the outcome of the Court ruling but acceptance would not warrant the legitimacy of Mnangagwa’s Presidency.
He said there were legitimacy issues which needed to be urgently addressed and dialogue between the two political leaders remained key for the country to move forward.
Chamisa’s utterances comes a day after the Constitutional Court dismissed with costs his challenge against President Mnangagwa’s July 30 election victory, on grounds that the application lacked clear and sufficient evidence.
The nine-member bench made a unanimous ruling against Chamisa, dismissing his entire long list of allegations for lack of evidence.
The decision by the Court infuriated the MDC Alliance leader who then announced his intentions to follow the political route of mass protests.
“This is not the end of the road but it’s the beginning and change is coming whether it is delayed is another issue but it cannot be denied. Change will come and it is going to come sooner than we think. We need to go to the fundamental issues around dealing with an issue of disputed electoral results.
“Hope is what we have and we are going to win. Yes the constitutional route has been shut which is a legal route but the legal route is not the only door to happiness or democracy but there are many others and the political doors are going to be opened very soon,” said Chamisa.
“Using our constitution, we have the right to peaceful protests and we have a right to peaceful demonstrations and a right to examine and execute all the available doors so that we are able to open our way to freedom and justice and that will be done in a short space of time.”
Chamisa said the issue of planned demonstrations is a Constitutional option and a viable one considering the demonstrations which were confuted in the past by the political party.
“We need to put mechanisms so that we will not have people who will come to disrupt our programmes but I can tell you we have every right to demonstrate. It’s a constitutional right and this is one of the routes to be taken and many other routes are going to be pursued at a political level,” said Chamisa.
Chamisa said he would not attend the inauguration of President Mnangagwa scheduled for tomorrow at the National Sports Stadium.
Soon after Court ruling yesterday, President Mnangagwa said his arms were open to engage Chamisa for a dialogue, a position which Chamisa said was just lip service.
