In charge … Sengezo Tshabangu says he will approve CCC candidates to take part in December by-elections
1. Does CCC leader Nelson Chamisa know Tshabangu and from where?
They know each very well from the now defunct opposition MDC and later its various splits, formations and manifestations.
2. Did they work together in forming the CCC and after?
Yes they did during strategic planning, consultations and formation of the party. They also worked together after, although less so during the elections.
3. So is Tshabangu the CCC interim Secretary-General?
Definitely he is not. He was never appointed, installed or even grabbed such a position as it is non-existent in the party. That’s is why he is a political impostor in that regard. He is not bona fide on that. He is fake.
He is only being assisted by Zanu PF-oriented state institutions, including parliament, Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the judiciary to posture as a serious political player when he is not.
He can’t even get himself elected as a councillor, let alone MP or senator.
Tshabangu is lying that those recalled MPs, senators and councillors ceased to be CCC members to justify his sinister political agenda. He is lucky to find willing collaborators with their own interests in the form state institutions, especially parliament and the judiciary.
4. So what is Tshabangu’s problem?
From interviews he held before the elections, he was openly aggrieved by the CCC’s chaotic candidates selection process. He complained it was chaotic. messy and illegitimate. In the process, he protested what he described as imposition of candidates in the party, but Bulawayo in particular.
His grievances were widely shared in the party, especially complaints about impositions and dictatorship.
5. Does Tshabangu have some legitimate grievances?
Yes he does. Those issues are real and need to be addressed.
6. Is he genuine in addressing that issue?
At the beginning he was, but he was hijacked by some political charlatans in and out of the party fighting Chamisa for personal and political reasons. Among those disgruntled political actors, some have legitimate issues, while others are now driven by vindictive vilification and self-serving politics.
But then even the vindictive political malcontents have some genuine concerns.
State security agents and Zanu PF, as well as some internal and opportunistic political vultures in all forms, shapes and sizes have gathered over the CCC expected carcass ready for a feast. The CCC is not yet dead, but battling for its survival.
Tshabangu is enjoying the glory. CCC sees him as a bitter enemy from within – a Fifth Columnist – while Zanu PF considers him a useful idiot.
Opportunists see him as a convenient instrument to hurt Chamisa with for personal and vindictive agendas, not the bigger picture.
Neutrals see him as someone being used by all these forces to destroy the opposition – just like Douglas Mwonzora – for President Emmerson Mnangagwa and Zanu PF’s benefit.
The outside bigger world thinks he is just a weapon of political destruction at the service of some grubby hands of dark political forces like Forever Associates Zimbabwe (FAZ).
Clearly, no doubt, Tshabangu feels justified in all this due to his key grievances and the temporary rewards he has reaped, just like Mwonzora.
7. Is Tshabangu working alone on this sinister political plot and mission.
Certainly not. He simply has no capacity and resources to do it alone. He is working with a combination and an array of political weevils and vultures trying to destroy the CCC and the opposition in general.
8. What does Tshabangu want?
He clearly wants to get back at Chamisa and CCC candidates. He also wants to disrupt the party. His agenda coincides with those of many actors in and out of the party chasing different things. While they claim they are doing this to ensure Chamisa does the right thing, that put in place a constitution, structures and office-bearers, among many other things, some of them are acting out personal grievances and vindictivenesss.
But this has also opened room for some with genuine bigger political agendas and ideas to be openly debated, which is a good thing.
9. Does Chamisa have a case to answer.
Of course, Chamisa has a case to answer. He simply failed to do the basics during the CCC formation – that is put in place a constitution, structures, office-bearers, standard operating procedures, rules, regulations and policies.
He shouldn’t have sought to reinvent the wheel through nebulous and ambiguous concepts, ideas and decisions- things like strategic ambuity and a chaotic primary election process.
Chamisa should have just formed a proper party guided by a constitution, structures, office-bearers, their ideological framework, ideas and policies.
This ensures a functional political machinery, transparency and accountability.
It prevents the party from operating like a secret society and inevitable dictatorship.
10. Who ultimately benefits from Tshabangu’s calculated attack on the CCC and its elected representatives?
Zanu PF is the main beneficiary. Opportunists feel they are vindicated and may share Tshabangu’s spoils in cash and kind. Tshabangu want to grab CCC state allocated funds just like Mwonzora. Spooky funders willing to pay to advance their agenda.
So Tshabangu and handlers may thus have an early Christmas.
The destruction of the CCC will be a major setback.
Yet in the end, they will fail to destroy the opposition even if they may bury the CCC like they did the MDC Alliance.
People need to understand that Chamisa (he also needs to get it that clearly as well) is not the opposition, he is the face and expression of an idea whose time has come, hence that cannot be destroyed by any force, let alone political impostors fronting tyranny.
Victor Hugo said: “Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.”