Tribalism allegations rock Tshabangu camp

Zim Now Writer

Disputed Citizens Coalition for Change secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu's camp confirmed that it has been carrying out recalls against Nelson Chamisa's allies to to deal with tribal controversies which rocked the party before the August 23, 2023, harmonised elections.

Soon after the elections, Tshabangu recalled dozens of CCC MPs and councillors, claiming he was the interim secretary-general. His move was endorsed by the courts after Chamisa, the CCC leader, sued him, arguing he was an imposter.

He said recalls were being carried out in order to rectify the anomalies that existed during the candidate selection process conducted ahead of the plebiscite.

But in an interview with veteran Zimbabwean broadcast journalist, Ezra "Tshisa" Sibanda, Mbuso Siso, who works with Tshabangu, claiming to be the party's interim treasurer, said the expulsion of CCC members in councils and Parliament was mainly carried out to reverse the imposition of candidates from other provinces, including Masvingo but were contesting in Bulawayo constituencies.

Siso went on to give examples of areas where candidates who are allegedly not of the Ndebele tribe were imposed.

"What happened was that we were aggrieved as people of Bulawayo before the 23 August elections, whereby people were imported from other provinces to come and stand as our councillors and MPs," he said.

"I will give you an example of Nketa where there was an MP who did not resemble the people of Nketa. You go to Magwegwe, where there was a Gono who comes from Masvingo.

"You go to Mpopoma Mzilikazi, where there was also a person from Masvingo. I will tell you that the entire five MPs that were imposed in Bulawayo were people from Masvingo, which was not fair to us.”

Sibanda also interviewed Albert Mhlanga, another ally of Tshabangu who claims to be the interim vice chairman of CCC. Seemingly confirming the confusion within their camp, and contrary to what Tshabangu said, Mhlanga said their roles were not democratically created, but they imposed themselves as leaders.

“What happened is that when we had problems during our primaries, we actually agreed that we set up an interim committee to persuade President Chamisa to come and rectify the problems we had.

“In this setup, there is nobody who appoints anybody.

“Yes, that’s the ambiguity strategy. Anybody has a right to claim any position. We are structureless. We have no right to block anybody,” he said.

The whole leadership in Tshabangu’s camp comprises people from Bulawayo.

The second batch of by-elections created after the recall of CCC members will be held on February 3. Tshabangu has since approached the courts, seeking an order barring 23 candidates who filed their nomination papers under CCC. The respondents are aligned to Chamisa.