Nelson Chamisa, leader of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has accused Sengezo Tshabangu, who claims to be the interim secretary general of the CCC, of being a tool used by ZANU PF to destroy the opposition internally.
Chamisa made the accusation in a recent interview, saying that Tshabangu was not a member of the CCC and that his actions were aimed at sowing discord and confusion within the party.
The opposition leader also hinted CCC will not participate in the upcoming December 9 by-elections citing that both the election date announcement and Tshabangu-initiated recalls were criminally conducted.
“I have told you that. I’m sick and tired of commenting about Zanu or FAZ. I’m not a member of Zanu. I’m not a member of FAZ. I’m sure if you want a proper comment about those people, that name – the moment you mentioned it, you remind me that I’m talking to the wrong person because you see Tshabangu or Twabam guy is not a CCC member, he belongs elsewhere. He is being imposed on the CCC to particularly achieve certain ends,” he said.
Chamisa claimed Zanu PF was behind Tshabangu’s actions to distract them from their calls for proper elections.
“(Zanu) knows that we defeated them in the election. They want us to focus internally and not focus on the issue. They want us to take our eyes off the need for a proper election and focus on these stupid and useless by-elections that have been created unlawfully, criminally and unconstitutionally and we will not waste our time on unconstitutional things,” said the CCC leader.
“The fact that we have a Speaker who chooses to act not just in error but on the basis of a crime, a ZEC that chooses to act on the basis of a crime and a ‘president’ of a country who chooses to act on the basis of a crime makes it a criminal syndicate. Zimbabwe has become a big crime scene when it comes to tearing apart the constitution of the land.”
The CCC leader described the by-elections as “unconstitutional and criminal acts,” in which the party will not waste its time participating in.
“We don’t participate in crime. It would be a different ball game had this position or these vacancies been created by a proper case of law and the course of law. You can’t choose to criminally produce and impose a fraudster, (have) a bogus recall, which is not from CCC,” Chamisa said.
Portraying Tshabangu as a tortoise on a lamp post, Chamisa alleged he was created by Zanu PF, which was using him to divert attention away from the flawed national elections.
“They know it. We know it. Everyone knows it – SADC AU and the world is aware that Mr Mnangagwa did not win the elections in Zimbabwe and the elections were flawed. So they want to try and shift that focus, create a new set of facts, hoping that that will deflect attention and the focus of the people of Zimbabwe,” he said.
The opposition leader stated CCC was uninterested in sideshows because its main show was having a proper election and a legitimate government in Zimbabwe.
“That is the issue. All these other things are side shows and you know, as you look at us, do we look like characters that would participate in a Muppet show?” Chamisa asked.
Chamisa also stated the CCC had chosen a ‘path of peace’ despite the odds stacked against the opposition in Zimbabwe.
“You don’t give us credit for sustaining this struggle and standing up to dictatorship under difficult circumstances. I was nearly killed several times… Those who dare to stand, some are even in jail on account of that commitment. So don’t look at the negatives. Look also at the positives. It’s a tough struggle against a very entrenched system but we’ve done very well,” Chamisa said.
“We’ve managed to make significant gains and we are happy with where we are. Yes, we want it to be quicker. We’d want it to be faster. But look, it’s not a walk in the park fighting a dictatorship. It’s never instant coffee or some kind of bag of roses. It’s a bed of thorns. We are using different instruments dealing with the dictatorship and we invest in peace. We have chosen peace under difficult circumstances.”
In light of the struggles CCC faced, the opposition leader says he does not “believe that we must walk on dead bodies on our way to the State House.”
“Yes, it’s going to cost more on our time, more on our effort, more even on our integrity and credentials that peace is the high road. We must smoke a peace pipe for Zimbabwe so that we have a free country for everyone.”
