Removing Chichewa, lack of evidence, Chilima on tight rope: Day 2 Malawi presidential elections case

Dr. Saulosi Klaus Chilima political capital has been built on open, transparent and direct participation of all Malawians with proclamation that “tsogolo lowala, lafika”. However, second the day of the historic court case to nullify presidential results in the May 21 Tripartite Elections, Chilima shocked every Malawian as his legal team wanted Chichewa translation out of the trial.

Hold on, why would Chilima and his legal team (They wouldn’t apply to court without his blessings) want the majority of Malawians not to follow the case simply because the Chichewa will delay the case- the truth as the eloquent SKC did not bring the requisite evidence to court.

The application against Chichewa will remain the main debate for the day, and political interpretation could cost his capital of openness. Chilima needs to tread carefully, he cannot choreograph the court case, he has no control and legally after his admissions to all of the Attorney General (AG) claims, his team as a tall order to portray the election as fraudulent or irregular. The election is conducted at the polling centre, where it seems none of the UTM monitors encountered the challenges Chilima alleges hindered the whole election.

As the main petitioner, he sets the tone of the case. Bring evidence, centre ABC had results manipulated, irregular process and indeed tippexed results. He owes that to Malawians when he charged, he has “overwhelming evidence” and that he wanted his day in court.

His petition moved the court that the elections were not run in line with laws and regulations. Interestingly going through the Attorney General Kalekeni Kaphale’s line of questions and Chilima answers, day two of the trial one can confirm that the UTM has no case in terms of electoral process, the infamous tippex and use of wrong sheets.

In Chilima’s own answer on the second day, tippex did not alter the results, he also agreed what mattered are the figures being acceptable to all monitors and more critically, he said he did not have problems with the whole election, but some other things.

He has wantonly failed to set the tone. I was praying for a stronger come back on Friday, but it was his lawyer Marshal Chilenga who was becoming desperate, objecting to many things, asking Kaphale to hurry up or not ask any questions again. The desperation shows Chilima on the stand is damaging their case, his petition which he read though was full of conjecture and not reality.

Elections again start from the polling. Did people vote accordingly? Was the voted counted objectively? Were the results agreed by all the parties or not? If there were problems, have any of the parties challenged the results or not? If they have the evidence, wrong tally sheets or altered results have these been presented as evidence?

If these basics are not clear in Chilima’s petition, his answers and if his petition remains a mound of allegations without substantive evidence, name of a single centre where results were tampered with or changed against him. The case means has no basis.

If the case has no basis as Chilima keeps now referring to “other affidavits” now his counsel Khumbo Soko says are 40, hopefully from monitors or people from the polling centres, if is very difficult to understand why he allowed Malawi to burn when he knew he had nothing.

As someone wrote somewhere, they should have waited for the court case to call for Jane Ansah’s head, I am sure the Human Rights Defenders Coalition, which ironically has suspended the demonstrations because of the case they all along claimed were not related, would issue an apology to Malawians for lying to them.

I hope SKC will manage to overturn the first two days by bring centres where rigging, intimidation and alteration took place. He agreed to Kaphale’s assertions through and through, that monitors would know better, I cannot figure out why they would miss such basic information which is the foundation of the whole elections, especially with the brilliant legal team they have.

Of course, the court was right, let Chichewa broken or not be continued. Let Malawians who have been told their will was not respected be shown the evidence, let the truth flow like river Jordan.

Second day again went to the Attorney General again. I am now wondering why they even included President Peter Mutharika in their petition. I would ordinarily withdraw him if that petition was based on what has been presented. Mutharika’s lawyer’s would be very brutal, it could finish Chilima’s career.

Justice anakonza!