The Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) is alleging that two of its councillors, Ian Makone and Lovejoy Chitengu, were recalled by the ruling party, ZANU PF, with the assistance of imposters within the CCC. The recalls were orchestrated by Sengezo Tshabangu, who claims to be the CCC’s interim secretary general. However, senior party leaders, including Nelson Chamisa, dispute Tshabangu’s claims stating that the secretary general position does not exist. They believe Tshabangu is colluding with ZANU PF to weaken the CCC and remove elected officials aligned with Chamisa.

Tshabangu has denied these allegations, asserting that the recalled individuals had ceased to be members of the party and were imposed on the electorate by Chamisa during the August 2023 general election. He also dared recalled MPs to prove that he was not the party’s interim secretary general. He claims to have an affidavit which proves that he was appointed the interim secretary general of the party. In a statement seen by Pindula News, the CCC party said:

Zanu PF and its imposters, who show no regard for the will of the citizens and their struggles under the Harare regime, unlawfully recalled Councilors Ian Makone and Lovejoy Chitengu. This was done because they had been elected as mayors of the city of Harare.

The recall of Makone and Chitengu has resulted in Jacob Mafume, a member of the CCC, being elected as the new mayor of Harare. But the party did not congratulate him suggesting its disapproval of Mafume’s election. Some CCC officials claim that Mafume has been collaborating with Tshabangu to destabilize the party. They allege that since Tshabangu and Mafume previously worked together in the Tendai Biti-led PDP party before it merged with other parties to form the MDC Alliance, Tshabangu is recalling CCC officials in an endeavour to reinstate former PDP members to influential positions within the CCC.

They say the alleged alliance between Tshabangu and ZANU PF will result in the ruling party gaining a majority in Parliament and influence in local government authorities. Tshabangu has denied all of these allegations.

Divisions within the CCC began before the August elections when the party implemented a strategy called “strategic ambiguity”, which concentrated power in the hands of Nelson Chamisa, the party’s president. This strategy faced opposition from some senior party officials such as Tendai Biti, Welshman Ncube, and Chalton Hwende. The party claimed that this strategy was adopted to prevent infiltration by ZANU PF and security service agents.

In response to a follower’s comment about sellouts within the CCC, Chamisa stated that they deliberately delayed allocating positions to sift out the greedy individuals. He expressed a desire for genuine and committed members, adding that the power-hungry will be exposed in the long run. He said:

Regai (nyoka) dzibude pachena, tisvike takachena! Ndizvo muchiona takanonoka kuti tipanane zvigaro. Taida venyota yesimba nemakaro ezvigaro vabude pachena. Masiriri anonetsa kuchengetedza unoona pasi patota nehavi!!! 

The only publicly known positions within the party are President and Spokesperson. Biti and Ncube used to hold interim vice president positions, but it appears that these positions were abolished before the elections. Chalton Hwende served as the secretary general, but that position was also abolished.

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