Chakwera urges Malawians to respect case outcome
Malawi Congress Party (MCP) president Lazarus Chakwera has urged Malawians to respect the outcome of the presidential election case.
Chakwera was speaking in Lilongwe yesterday when the Constitutional Court concluded hearing evidence which has been running almost four months.
Hearing of the case started on August 8 this year.
Briefing reporters after yesterday’s hearing, Chakwera, who is second petitioner in the case, said Malawians must respect the decision of the judges.
“I know that this has been called a historic case. My message is let’s respect the judiciary. We believe in justice, we believe in peace and we believe in foundations that can truly make a nation great and we must respect what they will decide.
“I am grateful to the Lord and am grateful to Malawians. I am grateful to our lawyers, our witnesses and the judges. I believe we have walked a long way and we have come that far. We seek justice, we seek justice on behalf of Malawians. It’s not about Chakwera, it’s not about any of us. It is about Malawians,” Chakwera said.
UTM president Saulos Chilima, who is first petitioner in the case, declined to comment on the conclusion of the hearing, referring the media to lead lawyer of the UTM legal team counsel Chikosa Silungwe.
Silungwe hailed the judges for handling the case with speed.
Chakwera’s appeal for Malawians to respect the outcome of the court case comes barely a few days after members of the clergy made a similar request.
It also comes two months after South Africa-based Prophet Shepard Bushiri urged political leaders to prepare their supporters regarding the outcome of the case.
“I make a strong appeal to our political leaders to start preparing people in their camps to accept the court’s transparent and incorruptible decision by the end of the day,” he said.
Chakwera and Saulos Chilima are challenging the election results after Malawi Electoral Commission declared President Peter Mutharika winner of the presidential election.
The two leaders have argued in court that the elections were marred by irregularities.
