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Chief Justice Luke Malaba

THE Constitutional Court will this afternoon deliver a ruling in a case in which MDC Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa is challenging President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s victory in the July 30 harmonised elections.

Chief Justice Luke Malaba, sitting with eight other judges of the Constitutional Court, will deliver judgment to put finality to last month’s plebiscite and set Zimbabwe on a path to economic revival. We wait with bated breath for the ruling and applaud the apex court for the commendable manner in which it handled the case.

In the run up to the Constitutional Court hearing, a lot of hype was created by the MDC Alliance to the extent that some of their supporters genuinely believed that their candidate, Mr Chamisa, had been cheated of victory in the polls. Pronouncements by Alliance leaders, particularly Messrs Chamisa and Tendai Biti, had torched violence which resulted in the death of six people in Harare on August 1 as they protested the results which they believed had been rigged in favour of President Mnangagwa.

The two’s reckless utterances, which could not be corroborated with hard evidence, saw their supporters rampaging through central Harare where they looted shops, burnt cars, stoned buildings and assaulted innocent bystanders in an orgy of violence which was eventually brought under control after the police enlisted the services of the Zimbabwe National Army.

The MDC Alliance were premising their claim to victory on their rallies prior to the elections and confidently claimed that they had solid proof that the election had been stolen. Just before the ConCourt hearing, their lawyers even boasted that they had an ace up their sleeve — a bombshell that they would unleash in court to buttress their case. This raised political tensions further and expectations of their supporters soared through the roof as they anticipated a showdown with the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and President Mnangagwa’s legal team in court.

Events in the ConCourt on Wednesday — which were broadcast live by the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation to an expectant nation — debunked all the myths and innuendos which flooded social media prior to the hearing. As Zimbabweans followed the case from beginning to end, it became evidently clear that the false bravado and bombastic statements from the opposition and their lawyers, which preceded the hearing, were just that — all sound and fury signifying nothing.

Zimbabwe has one of the best judiciary systems in Africa and on Wednesday, it was there for the world to see. The judges were fair, firm and impartial — executing their mandate with grace and finesse they made us proud to be Zimbabwean. The lawyers representing the applicant and various respondents were also in their element — sparring in an intense duel that left Zimbabweans in awe at the immense talent being churned out of the law schools dotted around the country.

Some even wondered why the MDC Alliance went to great lengths to hire expensive advocates from South Africa when our own local talent is blessed with such exceptional skills.  The jury is still out as to which set of lawyers outshone the other but the bottom-line is that Zimbabweans witnessed one of the best legal duels playing out right in front of their eyes and those of the world.

Kudos should go to the authorities for allowing the case to be broadcast live as this debunked the myth that there was  something to hide. The decision also exposed the MDC Alliance to its supporters and the whole world as they could easily discern that its case was premised on weak evidence most of which was plucked literally from the air.

After being beaten fair and square in a credible, free and fair election, Mr Chamisa and his acolytes lived true to their promise that they would literally, “dira jecha musadza kuti risa dyike” (pour sand into food so that it’s inedible) by embarking on a series of actions designed to sabotage the new Government.

To some extent, they have achieved that by cajoling the United States to renew sanctions on Zimbabwe, scuttling re-engagement efforts with the European Union by making scurrilous allegations of political violence and casting aspersions on the legitimacy of the new Government through their senseless and threadbare court petition.

We are, however, glad that through some of their ill-advised moves like the petition, they have exposed themselves. Political tensions are likely to ebb from today  going forward as Zimbabweans saw for themselves that the Alliance’s case in court had no leg to stand on and they were sold a dummy.

Hopefully, this will allow them to accept the decision of the court gracefully and let whoever is adjudged the winner of the July 30 presidential election, the opportunity to chart a new path for the country.

In the same vein, we urge Zimbabweans to remain calm and peaceful as the ConCourt delivers its judgment. Zimbabwe is bigger than the ambitions of egoistic individuals with an insatiable appetite for power.