In what could be a dark reminder of the Jealousy Mawarire court victory against the late Morgan Tsvangirai in 2013, the High Court judge Justice Happias Zhou has ruled against the call by Nelson Chamisa’s MDC Alliance party’s defence and demand for the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission to issue a voters’ roll with photographs.

Justice Zhou said the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) is right on not issuing a voters’ roll with photographs to political parties or any member of public.

The verdict goes on to state that the electoral body has rights not to be compelled on it.

A Zimbabwean woman Ms Ethel Tsitsi Mpezeni, had sought from the High Court an order barring ZEC from releasing a voters’ roll bearing registered voters’ pictures. The petition prompted opposition political parties and activists who comprised MDC-Alliance, Renewal Democrats of Zimbabwe, People’s Democratic Party, Coalition for Democrats, National Constitutional Assembly, Ms Theresa Manase, Pastor Evan Mawarire, Mr Harrison Nkomo, Mr Jeremiah Bamu, Mr Douglas Coltart and Mr Warship Dumba to combine and file a join application. They argued that they will be completely prejudiced by the order Mpezeni sought saying it would have a negative result on the credibility of the July 30 harmonised elections.

Justice Zhou ruled that Ms Mpezeni’s fears that the provision of a photograph will enable criminals to clone national identity documents were properly founded to warrant the court to grant the relief she sought. Justice Zhou said, “there is no reason why publication of the photograph should be allowed to people without a legitimate reason to have it. Granting of the interdict does not irreparably prejudice the respondents.”