There is allegedly a fresh plot to confuse supporters of the Nelson Chamisa-led Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) after a shadowy political group notified the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (Zec) that it was registering one of CCC’s popular campaign slogans as theirs.
The unknown group using a Harare address is said to have
notified Zec that a party known as Ngaapinde Hake Mukomana (NHM) loosely
translated to “let him in” in English will contest future elections.
It indicated 95 Jason Moyo Avenue, Harare as its address.
A check at the address revealed that the building houses
different retail shops and there was no office for a political party.
The letter signed by the purported new party’s secretary
general one John Pindura claimed that a Frank Mandipa was their leader.
An online search of the two names yielded nothing, which
could suggest that they are virtually unknown or might not exist at all.
CCC deputy spokesperson Gift Ostalos Siziba said the
purported letter, now trending on social media, was an attempt by Zanu PF to
derail CCC, which was formed in January.
The party went on to win the majority of parliamentary and
local government seats in by-elections held in March and early this month.
Siziba said they were seeing a Zanu PF hand in the alleged
attempt to torpedo Chamisa’s campaign ahead of the 2023 elections where he is
set to contest against President Emmerson Mnangagwa for the second time.
“It is a sign that Zanu PF is desperate. It’s foolish for
Zanu PF to think that they can hijack the revolution by using the NHM,” Siziba
said.
“NHM is not a trademark of the CCC, but just a
philosophical mass mobilisation watchword.”
He said the move proved that CCC was causing Zanu PF
sleepless nights.
“The attempt to register a party in the name of our
watchword is a sign that CCC is a popular party,” Siziba said.
“Zanu PF lacks intellectual rigour and that is why they are
always following us trying to hijack every idea we have. We lead them in terms
of ideas.
“We will not be worried about that anyway. We will always
have new ideas.”
Effie Ncube, a Bulawayo-based political commentator, said
the move to register a slogan associated
with CCC as a name for another party could have been triggered by the performance
of Chamisa’s party in the by-elections.
“There is no doubt at all that Zanu is spending sleepless
nights worrying about the growth and the
resilience of the CCC party. Therefore it is coming up with all sorts of
shenanigans including forming political parties to try and disturb the
inevitable demise of Zanu PF,” Ncube said.
Zanu PF director of communications Tafadzwa Mugwadi
yesterday said the ruling party had no business sponsoring opposition parties.
“We have no business commenting on matters that have no
bearing on our trajectory,” Mugwadi said.
“However, it would be a sad day in history if any political
player were to frown on the formation of other new political players.
“The president is clear that we are a multiparty democratic
state and everyone has a right to form what is formable.
“The ballot shall be the equaliser and we will teach them a
lesson of their life in 2023 through the ballot.”
In 2021, another
shadowy group calling itself Citizens Convergence for Change wrote to ZEC to
register the CCC acronym which at the time was linked to Chamisa before he
officially launched the party.
The outfit mentioned prominent Bulawayo lawyer Tavengwa
Hara as the party’s legal representative. Hara, however, distanced himself from
the party.
Zec spokesperson Jasper Mangwana said he could not comment
on the latest developments.
“We can’t comment until we receive something on the notice
of elections.” Mangwana said.
Watchdogs fret over low voter registration figures -
NewsDay - Zimbabwe Focus News | ZimFocus News
“You know in Zimbabwe, we don’t register or regulate
political parties.”
Zanu PF is often accused of sponsoring opposition political
parties in the hope that they will divide the vote and ensure that the ruling
party wins. Standard
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