Correspondent|NCA leader Lovemore Madhuku has said the Constitutional Court put the issue of Mnangagwa’s legitmacy to rest, and anything else will not change that fact.

Speaking to the Standard, Madhuku said: “Mnangagwa’s legitimacy is not derived or conferred by an individual, but by law.

“The legitimacy of the president or government is not derived from you and me, but from the law.

“The day the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission chairperson announced that he had won the election and declared him as such, his legitimacy was dealt with.

“He is not a legitimate president just because (Nelson) Chamisa or MDC Alliance supporters have said so. He is a legitimate president by operation of the law.

“To make matters worse, he was confirmed a legitimate president by the Constitutional Court and Chamisa is the one who took the matter there.

“It was going to be a different matter had he not taken the matter to court. But he decided to take the matter there and a decision was made.

“We are a constitutional democratic country and therefore we abide by whatever decision the law makes.

“You have to understand that at all times people have their preferred leaders and it is normal, but the rule of law is supreme. So we are not there to deal with any legitimacy question.”

On the issue of dialogue, Madhuku said it must not be mistaken for power sharing. He said the political parties are dialoguing with the ruling party to resolve issues in a mature way as well as bring forth the much-needed electoral reforms ahead of the 2023 elections.

More on ZOOMZimbabwe… South Africa-based civic society groups in Bulawayo to campaign against sanctions
“If you look at the agenda of our meetings, it is all about Zimbabwe and how we could take it forward.

“We are dealing with how to grow our economy, share ideas and views.

“These ideas are not measured by the number of people who voted for us.

“We are all Zimbabweans and we have to share ideas and see if we can make Zimbabwe better.

“We are also dealing with political reforms so that we can make the 2023 election better.

“We are raising issues we believe can make us a better people come 2023 and have improved elections.”

Madhuku argued that the opposition parties have already made some headway in their dialogue with the ruling party.

He said: “I can give an example, at our first meeting as opposition parties, we demanded that soldiers who were on the streets should go back to the barracks as we felt it was wrong.

“Remember we held this meeting at a time when we had soldiers conducting roadblocks and we said it was not good for Zimbabwe.

“Within 48 hours, the military was withdrawn from the streets and we are happy that this was done through engagement, in a respectable manner.

“We also agreed and now speak with one voice on the issue of sanctions. This is not a Zanu PF issue.

“We have said sanctions are no longer necessary and they have to go.

“We have made a resolution to say, we should talk about sanctions as Zimbabweans and we shall speak our minds.

“This is not being influenced by Zanu PF, but looking at the reality, sanctions do not work.

More on ZOOMZimbabwe… Linda Masarira views on the current political and economic situation in Zimbabwe
“The more recent issue is the visit to Chimanimani. You don’t know the significance of the visit we made as a team there and its impact on families.

“You should go to Chipinge or Chimanimani and ask how they feel after seeing a collective response from all political leaders on the national tragedy.

“People feel comforted. It is unfortunate that some people think they are the ones who must go and mourn with bereaved families, it is sad.

“We are Zimbabweans and share a lot together and in this case, we shared the burden as leaders and shared ideas on how to help the victims.

“More importantly, we have laid down a framework on how to tackle the issue of political reforms as we prepare for 2023.”

Madhuku was speaking in an interview with the Standard.