A legal bombshell has been dropped on Zimbabwe’s largest opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), with the party’s secretary-general, Sengezo Tshabangu, poised to seize complete control.
This comes after a legal opinion by Ncube Attorneys declared that the terms of office of all CCC office bearers elected at the 2019 Gweru congress expired in May this year,
The legal advice, dated August 12, 2024, states that any office bearer elected in May 2019 who is still in office is doing so unlawfully. This means that only Tshabangu, who was not part of the 2019 processes, will legally retain his position as interim secretary-general, The Standard has reported.
The legal opinion throws the CCC into further turmoil, following the resignation of party leader Nelson Chamisa earlier this year. Chamisa stepped down after Tshabangu declared himself secretary-general, leading to a power struggle and the recall of elected parliamentarians, senators, and councillors.
In the wake of Chamisa’s resignation, Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti, and Lynnette Karenyi Kore were appointed acting presidents in February, with the party reverting to its 2019 structures. However, Biti has since taken a sabbatical from politics.
Tshabangu’s lawyers argue that the appointment of Ncube as acting president was also illegal, as it was made by the national standing committee, not the national council, which is the body mandated by the party’s constitution to make such appointments.
“It is a matter of the public record that meetings said to have been of the ‘national standing committee’ were held on January 24, 2024, January 28 and on January 29, 2024 in the wake of the sudden resignation of Mr Nelson Chamisa on January 24, 2024, and that subsequently, another meeting was held on February 17, 2024, in which Professor Welshman Ncube was said to have been ‘appointed’ as the acting president,” the legal advice states.
“In our opinion, it is the party’s national council, not the national standing committee which should have made the decisions announced by the national standing committee on February 17, 2024. This is because, in terms of the constitution of the party, the national standing committee does not have the power to appoint an acting president.”
The legal advice also highlights the failure of Ncube and others to organise a congress as a serious violation of the party’s constitution.
“You are the interim secretary general not on the basis of the Gweru congress resolutions, or the results of the elections held on May 25, 2019 at the Gweru congress, but on the basis of the decisions recommended by the national executive council on January 21, 2022, and approved by the national council on January 22, 2022,” the lawyers stated.
“These decisions were abandoned not only by Chamisa but also by virtually all members of the current national standing committee leadership that was absent between 22 January and 24 January 2024. In our considered opinion, only your office and position as CCC interim secretary general remain with a valid legal basis…”
Tshabangu’s lawyers have advised him to establish a five-member technical team to review the situation and recommend a way forward, including the possibility of a congress.
The legal opinion has further wrecked havoc in CCC, with the party’s deputy spokesperson, Descent Bajila, stating he was unaware of the development and required time to verify the information. Tshabangu’s lawyer, Nqobani Sithole, declined to comment, citing client-lawyer confidentiality.
The CCC’s internal strife comes at a time when the party has received US$1.6 million from the government under the Political Parties Finances Act. The Act provides funding to parties that secure at least 5% of the vote in elections.
The government disbursed ZiG47,883,500 to Zanu PF and ZiG22,116,500 to CCC, equivalent to US$1.6 million at the current official exchange rate.
The legal opinion has raised questions about the future of the CCC, with some observers suggesting that the party may be headed for further fragmentation. The party’s leadership under Welshman Ncube will need to act swiftly to address the legal challenges and restore stability within the party. – The Standard.
