Political Reporter

Fissures within the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) were seen last weekend when several senior members boycotted Nelson Chamisa’s campaign launch rally in Gweru.

Among those who boycotted the rally were co-vice presidents Welshman Ncube and Tendai Biti, Thokozani Khupe, and Joel Gabuza.

A source who spoke to this publication said that the boycott was a sign of the growing discontent within the CCC over Chamisa's leadership style.

The same source added that the boycott of the Gweru rally was again a sign that Chamisa's traditional partners were growing impatient with him.

"In recent months, there have been several reports of Chamisa's dictatorial tendencies and how he has been ill-treating senior members of the party. At the rally in Gweru, all of the embassies that were previously sympathetic to Chamisa and the CCC were conspicuously absent, save for the Embassy of the Netherlands. Senior party members such as Biti, Ncube, Khupe, and Gabuza were also absent,” said the source.

According to the source, even the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), a long time CCC partner, boycotted the Gweru rally.

The same source said that former Morgan Tsvangirai’s spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka, who is now based overseas, was also angry at Chamisa and was not picking up his calls.

According to the source, just before that party’s candidate nomination process, Tamborinyoka flew overseas for work after he learnt that he was being elbowed out. However, he was later convinced by Chamisa to come back after being promised that he would be a CCC candidate for Goromonzi constituency.

Nonetheless, after coming back, Tamborinyoka was surprised not to see his name on the official CCC candidate list. He later struggled to raise funds for an air ticket to go back.

Political analyst Sylvester Muradzi said that the boycotts were a major setback for Chamisa and the CCC ahead of the upcoming elections. He added that the CCC’s internal divisions could weaken its campaign and make it more difficult to win the elections.

According to Muradzi, the boycott of CCC rallies by CCC bigwigs was a recipe for that party’s electoral defeat.

"If the CCC is unable to unite its ranks, it will be difficult for it to defeat ZANU-PF in the elections,” said Muradzi.

Meanwhile, the ZANU-PF party, on the other hand, is exhibiting a united front as it mobilises for 5 million votes in the upcoming elections.