Tensions flare as CCC factions jostle for control
The battle lines were drawn within Zimbabwe’s main opposition party this week, as rival CCC factions staked claims after Nelson Chamisa’s surprise resignation.
At a Citizens National Assembly meeting, supporters of Chamisa said they would engage with their former leader while appointing an interim committee led by Jameson Timba to guide the party.
However, a group aligned with self-declared acting secretary Sengezo Tshabangu insisted on reverting to the 2019 structures during an extraordinary standing committee meeting chaired by Welshman Ncube.
Chamisa-aligned CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwanzani hit out, vowing never to hand CCC to “Zanu-PF cronies and impostors.”
Separately, Tshabangu’s faction accepted Chamisa’s departure and called for a return to the 2019 leadership. As infighting intensified, Mutare MP Brian James followed Fadzayi Mahere by quitting both his parliamentary seat and CCC, citing concerns the party had been “hijacked.”
In his statement, James said the CCC had been hijacked.
“It, therefore, begs the question; how effective would the party be in securing electoral reforms and entrenching a democratic political system when controlled by the ruling party?.
“I, however, find it difficult, even impossible to be part of this lie and as a result intend to formally document my resignation from the Parliament of Zimbabwe,” James thundered.
With stakeholders staking radically different visions, the jostling threatens to paralyze CCC. Both sides claim legitimacy, but the ultimate arbiter may be the electorate if instability persists. For now, Chamisa’s supporters and rivals alike are girding for potential court battles as the impasse over who commands the crucial opposition bloc shows no signs of abating.
