THE dismissal of Nelson Chamisa’s petition to nullify the July 30 Presidential vote by the Constitutional Court (Concourt) and the subsequent inauguration of President Emmerson Mnangagwa 48 hours later are major political milestones witnessed by our country in the last few days.
While Chamisa’s loss meant closure to any further reasonable dispute, President Mnangagwa’s inauguration meant the beginning of the Second Republic.
On August 24, the Concourt unanimously dismissed, with costs, the election petition by Chamisa challenging the declaration of President Mnangagwa as the duly-elected President of Zimbabwe.
This is the country’s highest court and its decision is final.
There is no appeal!
The harmonised elections had already been endorsed free, fair, peaceful and credible by both local and international observers.
No wonder Chamisa’s speculative submission, devoid of any concrete primary evidence, failed to persuade any of the nine Supreme Court judges.
It was a masterstroke that the petition, which had stirred so much national interest, was televised live on ZTV for transparency.
Even some of the most ardent of Chamisa’s supporters publicly conceded that the MDC Alliance leader’s petition was so frivolous it had no chance to succeed in any court of law.
But not so with Chamisa.
As we have already pointed out, he relies on the backing of some forces with their own ulterior motives.
This is evidenced by the privately-owned media and NGOs whose false post-election violence reports have reached fever pitch.
Police have confirmed these alarmist stories as naked lies.
And Chamisa is a willing pawn in this regime change matrix.
As part of his grandstanding, he has already decided to appeal to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights.
But for a qualified lawyer to take his case to a commission, with no legal force whatsoever on Zimbabwe, puts his credentials in serious doubt.
On the other hand, President Mnangagwa has been magnanimous in victory.
At his inauguration, he ushered in the Second Republic, stretching out his hands, ready to accept the shell-shocked Chamisa.
With unity and development at the core, the tone of his initial five-year span of the Second Republic was self-evident at his inauguration.
Politics had to take a back seat.
With a united country, the objective of achieving a middle-income economy by 2030, with or without MDC-induced sanctions, is possible.
While Chamisa was still licking his wounds, focus was shifted to the possible team that would assist in fulfilling the 2030 dream.
The listening leadership mantra should not be limited to the President only, but should include the Cabinet as well.
This is a team which should not be in any doubt about the electorate’s expectations.
Zimbabweans want to see their country, which had been run down for so many years, leapfrog the development levels of our neighbours.
The President will, to a large extent, be judged over the performance of his elite team.
We thought the idea of setting continuous 100-day benchmarks was one sure way of measuring accountability.
We have no intention to put pressure on the President with regards to the CVs of his team, nor the size of his Cabinet.
He may even retain some of his old warhorses.
It’s entirely up to him, with a blank cheque in front of him.
We voted for him because we have faith in him.
Suffice for the President to know that the people’s expectations, especially with the advent of the Second Republic, are very high.
And 2023 is not very far away!