Lilongwe Senior Resident Magistrate Bracious Kondowe has heard the latest instalment in the ongoing “we’ve got this” case involving opposition Malawi Congress Party members Vitumbiko Mumba and Jessie Kabwira, as the defence pushes to have the matter escalated to Malawi’s highest constitutional authority. The defence team had earlier asked the court to refer the case to the Chief Justice, seeking certification for it to be formally declared a constitutional case. If granted, the application would see the matter referred directly to the Constitutional Court for determination, effectively elevating the case beyond the jurisdiction of the magistrate’s court entirely. Defence lawyer Khumbo Soko told the court that the legal team was fundamentally challenging the basis on which the State had chosen to prosecute the case, arguing that prosecutors were relying on provisions of law that had already been struck down and nullified by previous court rulings. The bold legal challenge, if successful, could have significant implications for how the prosecution is permitted to proceed, potentially undermining the very legal foundation upon which the case against Mumba and Kabwira currently rests.