Putting out Chamisa's lit fuse

The recent ruling by High Court judge Justice Francis Bereagainst Mr Nelson Chamisa in his crusade against Dr Thokozani Khupe should have served as a wake-up call to the young leader. Justice Bere's bottom line after hearing from both sides is that the parties are better served dealing with their differences through arbitration.

In other words, sit down and work it out.
Some could argue that Justice Bere's advice was actually far milder than it might have been.
She made a pronouncement on three consecutive applications which had been thrown at the Khupe faction by Chamisa and his allies.

Firstly, they challenged the usage by Khupe of the MDC-T name, logos and symbols. They were unsuccessful and were ordered to pay their opponents the costs for their challenge.

Secondly, they desperately tried to stop Khupe's extra ordinary congress from taking place and their court application was rejected for lack of merit.

Thirdly, they sought to blow holes into Khupe's response to their case through an ex parte court application which was based on their constitutional court challenge evidence. Again this application was thrown out for lacking proper legal feet to stand on.

However, rather than do the sensible thing that a neutral person suggested as a way of ending this maddening feud, Chamisa is hell-bent on reigniting the legal battles all over again.
Many legal commentators have suggested that this is ill-advised for a myriad of reasons.

Most of all, Chamisa should understand with the campaign already underway, each day he carries on his bloody feud with Khupe and her allies, the harder it will be to focus on the elections. Each attack on Khupe will lose Chamisa badly needed supporters.

Zimbabweans, after decades of repression, will not want a petty and impetuous person leading the country.

They will also a see a person who lacks the necessary leadership skills of listening to those of differing opinions, or being able to compromise and finally, to put one's ego and self-interest aside for the greater good.

It is fast becoming irrelevant if Chamisa has legal grounds or not. He may one day win the legal courts but each day he continues this fight, he loses massively in the court of public opinion and this is where his political future will be chosen.

As an advocate, Chamisa has probably been involved in hundreds of cases where cases have been settled out of court and the two sides have arrived at an equitable agreement even when one side has a clearly stronger case. In fact, I would wager that there are many cases when he has advised thusly.

Nevertheless, now that Chamisa is an applicant he appears to be a man obsessed with being right rather than clever, and he could bring the whole MDC down with his recklessness.

It is not too late and Chamisa can pull back from the brink if his esteemed self of sense will allow him to extend the olive branch to his opponent Khupe. Stranger partnerships have taken place in Zimbabwean politics and together they could make a powerful union.

He can not become like Roman Emperor Nero who burned down Rome to further political aims. Chamisa is lighting the fuse in 21st Century Zimbabwe. It is now time for the prevailing of cooler heads to ensure that the MDC does not blow another election down to infighting and bad management.

If Chamisa can not be cajoled or persuaded to put out the fuse then perhaps the MDC should find someone who can act as conciliator between all the different factions and allow our great movement a decent fighting chance of actually assuming power.

Charles, Harare (student)