LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The UTM Party legal team says the withdraw of 38 witnesses in the on-going presidential elections case is tactical and insisted that it is satisfied with the strength of the evidence tendered so far.
Lawyer Chikosa Silungwe who is a lead counsel for first petitioner in the case, immediate Vice President Saulos Chilima said in an interview Thursday that the decision was arrived at after a deep review of the case.
Silungwe told the Maravi Post that the decision will improve progress of the case saying progress made so far, the strength of the evidence already given at this juncture,
He added that “a thoughtful reflection on the time the case is taking to conclude as the nation eagerly waits to hear the final judgment on the validity of the dubiously managed election held on 21 May 2019”.
“The main motivation behind the decision is the need to quickly bring the case to its logical conclusion in a timely manner, without necessarily compromising on the strength of the case. This is in line with the rules of the court which require that election cases should be concluded quickly within a number of days.”
“The decision taken today also compliments the directions the court has been issuing to fast-track the case. The move has hugely cut on the time for concluding the case. With the 38 witnesses for the first petitioner withdrawn, the court will now move quickly to hear evidence for the second petitioner,” said Silungwe.
He said while the witnesses who have been withdrawn would have brought in further dimensions to the case, this has had to be balanced with the need not to take the nation for granted and keep it in a prolonged state of uncertainty.
“The nation needs to know the truth, and know it quickly so that together we can chart a new way forward for the country. The first petitioner’s legal team maintains that there is enough evidence to work with for nullification of the presidential election,” said Silungwe.
Silungwe took the court by surprise when he announced that they would not be bringing in any witnesses apart from the four that have already testified namely Chilima, Mirriam Gwalidi, Darlington Ndasauka and Bright Kawaga.
The court will resume hearing of the case on Tuesday next week.
