Opposition MDC Alliance leader Nelson Chamisa’s bid to get the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) hear his bid to overturn President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s slim election victory has apparently died.

Following the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec)’s declaration of Mnangagwa as winner of the July 30 presidential election with a 50,67% margin, Chamisa, who came a close second with 44,3% of the vote, approached the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) arguing he had been defrauded of victory by collusion between Zec and the ruling Zanu PF party.

But the ConCourt on August 24, after a full hearing, dismissed the petition on the grounds that it lacked evidence, forcing Chamisa to escalate his fight to the continental body.

Highly-placed sources within the MDC Alliance this week claimed the move to approach the ACHPR was a “publicity stunt”.
“It was nothing beyond public posturing. It was a publicity stunt that has never been followed. In all meetings that we have had since then, this issue has never been raised. Nobody, not even the president, has brought it up for discussion,” NewsDay heard.

But Chamisa’s spokesperson Nkululeko Sibanda said such issues take long.

“The matter has not been set down for hearing. We are yet to hear from the ACHPR. Such cases take long and really we had no basis to request that it be heard on an urgent basis,” Sibanda said.

-Newsday