A source within Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services said Sikhala refused to see Chamisa because he felt that apart from being the most influential figure in their party; Chamisa has rendered him expendable and thrown him under the bus.
“When Chamisa came to see Sikhala at Chikurubi, Sikhala refused to give Chamisa audience. He said despite sacrificing his life for the party, Chamisa and CCC leadership had abandoned him at his time of need,” said the source.
Sikhala who is desperate for legal assistance has since engaged the services of Amsterdam and Partners a United States (US) and British based firm for legal representation. Amsterdam and Partners have also accepted to assist Sikhala based on the “Firm’s pro bono program” which means he will not be paying any fees.
A member of the CCC party, Tsitsi Zinhume said it was frustrating to see CCC, a party teeming with lawyers failing to represent Sikhala.
“What Chamisa, Mahere, Biti and other lawyers within CCC are doing is wrong. The party has an abundance of lawyers but they have failed to represent their most influential politician. To me as an ordinary CCC member, it means these guys truly want to bury Sikhala. As a party, how can we settle for grants from US and British lawyers yet we have more than enough capable lawyers?” said Zinhume.
Meanwhile, the opposition party has also rebranded its party logo opting to remove Chamisa’s face whilst maintaining all the other details. Political analyst Blessing Gwafunga has attributed this move to the pressure from the United States (US) on CCC to change leadership ahead of the 2023 Harmonised General elections. He also said considering that the US and Britain had sent their lawyers to assist Job Sikhala, it is evident that these two governments now preferred Sikhala who was more offensive than Chamisa.
“It is certainly not a coincidence that we have the removal of Chamisa’s face from the party logo and then the Americans and British send their own lawyers to provide assistance for Sikhala. This simply means these guys would want to see Sikhala run the show, probably because he is more offensive than Chamisa who prefers to take the back seat,” said Joel Mombe, a political analyst.
CCC has been rocked by political mischief. Recently another influential CCC leader Fadzayi Mahere was caught in a love triangle with a married man leading to the collapse of his marriage. Citizens across political divide have called for Mahere to resign from her post in the party.
