FORMER Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa has said the ruling Zanu PF party is after his life following his shock decision to quit the opposition party he formed two years ago.
Chamisa stepped down as CCC leader last week saying Zanu PF had infiltrated the party after self-imposed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu went on a firing spree of legislators and councillors, accusing them of ceasing to be members of the party.
His statement follows remarks made by Zanu PF national spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa calling for the investigation of Chamisa over alleged misuse of party funds and assets after his resignation as the party president.
However, in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) yesterday, Chamisa chronicled how the ruling elite had worked day and night to destroy the opposition in Zimbabwe.“In 2018, they took away the MDC-T and gave it to another. Then, we formed the MDC Alliance. In 2020, they took the MDC Alliance and gave it to another.
“They further took away our headquarters, took away assets, finances…political party funding. They recalled over 25 MDC Alliance MPs from Parliament to leave me naked. Then founded the CCC from nothing.
“In 2023, they took the CCC and gave it to another, this time to their own invention and creation. All this in an attempt to degrade, demean, defocus, weaken and destroy.“In 2024, as if that is not enough, now they are threatening to take my life. I have no regrets whatsoever!! Our cause is just — A better life for everyone. Dignity for everyone. Happiness for everyone. Freedom for everyone,” he said.
Meanwhile, experts say the call by Zanu PF confirms the widely-held view that the ruling party had a hand in the internal contradictions in the two-year-old CCC.Speaking at a Press conference at the party’s headquarters in Harare on Saturday last week, Mutsvangwa lashed out at Chamisa for deserting the CCC, warning him to “watch out for lions” as he had become a loner.
“As for Chamisa, organisations have a way of making somebody accountable. If you desert a group, you can ask what happens to an impala bull when it leaves the herd and starts flocking on its own. The lion out there will be on the lookout (sic) because you are on your own. There is something good about belonging to an organisation but because he has never built one he believes in strategic ambiguity.
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“But the organisation has a way of making you accountable. There are books that need to be looked into. There were funds which were received in different names.”Mutsvangwa said the ruling party was aware of complaints by CCC members who campaigned for the party and were supposed to be paid but were not paid.
“Now that you are not in charge of the organisation… He has to account for the day when he took over an organisation called MDC/CCC and its finances because he was at the helm of it for that particular time (sic). I hope he is not jumping to spend all his time at the courts giving evidence against all the people who may have claims against his days when he was at the helm at the CCC. He cannot be immune before the courts of the law.
“Judging by the grievances of those who formed the party who are now coming back to claim it, they have a gamut of grievances and these are not coming from Zanu PF. It’s an internal matter. Pachanakidza (things are getting interesting), I can assure you. The drama is about to unfold.”
But Chamisa told our sister paper, The Standard, in an exclusive interview that he had nothing to be accountable for because the party had no assets.“What handover and takeover? Where did you hear a party president managing the parties’ funds? CCC was being run on a voluntary basis, without offices, CCC was renting offices. So there is nothing to hand over.
“The only assets CCC had are the MPs and councillors who were elected by the people. In fact, CCC never got a cent from the taxpayer. It’s only I am not a mercenary or a person who is after benefits and money. That is not my motivation in politics. If I were to be frank, I have lost that I have gained.
“Under normal circumstances, I am the one who should be compensated for the effort, time, and travelling — the personal resources that I have used — but I am giving to Zimbabwe and I am not after compensation. It’s a sacrifice because it’s a struggle.”
Tshabangu said the CCC leadership was working towards engaging Chamisa to rejoin the party.
