The turmoil
follows conflicting legal claims about the status of Dube’s employment, with
Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart and his deputy, Edwin Ndlovu, issuing sharply
contradictory statements over the legality of a council meeting held on 5
November 2025.
The councillors
at the centre of the controversy were elected under the CCC ticket in 2023, a
party that has been fractured and leaderless since Nelson Chamisa resigned in
early 2024.
Chamisa stepped
down after a leadership challenge by Sengezo Tshabangu, who exploited the
party’s “strategic ambiguity” and plunged the CCC into a succession crisis.
A planned
90-day rotational leadership, involving Professor Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti
and Lynette Karenyi-Kore, later collapsed. Although Tshabangu is now recognised
as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, deep confusion over the party’s
leadership persists.
Analysts say
this internal disintegration has created a power vacuum that councillors are
now exploiting with impunity.
In an interview
with CITE, legal expert Dr Vusumuzi Sibanda accused Deputy Mayor Ndlovu and a
group of councillors of violating procedure and defying the mayor’s authority,
allegedly under the influence of political forces pushing for Dube’s contract
extension.
“The failure by
the deputy mayor to respect and observe the chain of command shows he is
working for those people pushing to change term limits,” Dr Sibanda said.
“We know CCC is
in shambles. There is no political leader now, so councillors do as they please
or as the current Secretary General wishes, after he managed to usurp
authority.”
He said that
without clear political direction, councillors were acting in their own
self-interest.
“People do as
they wish according to where they think their bread is buttered. Maybe they
also hope their own terms will be similarly increased,” he added.
The controversy
stems from a chaotic full council meeting on 5 November, where Mayor Coltart
says he adjourned proceedings due to “total disorder”, “threats” and
“slanderous vilification”.
He alleges an
“illegal meeting” was convened after his departure, during which Dube’s
contract was purportedly extended by five years.
Deputy Mayor
Ndlovu publicly countered that the meeting had been merely “vibrant” and
insisted any resolutions passed after Coltart left were legally binding.
Dr Sibanda
strongly disagreed, describing the councillors’ actions as “insubordination”.
“A meeting
cannot legally continue after the presiding officer has adjourned it,” he said.
“When the Speaker says Parliament is over, can the Deputy Speaker continue with
the sitting?”
He argued that
all decisions taken after the adjournment were invalid.
“All those
councillors must be called to account. The agenda became theirs, not the
council’s. They simply refused to listen to the mayor.”
Dr Sibanda said
if councillors genuinely believed Mayor Coltart was unfit to lead, they should
have followed lawful procedures.
“If they feel
the mayor is failing them, they can impeach him. But until he is lawfully
removed, they cannot take decisions in his absence.”
He warned that
the councillors’ actions could have serious legal consequences.
“Council must
operate according to its standing orders, not personal preferences or political
whims. Violating procedure cannot be tolerated.”
Dr Sibanda said
the deeper problem lay in inconsistent rules that were frequently manipulated
for political purposes. He criticised repeated changes to Zimbabwe’s governance
regulations, particularly around retirement age.
“When the
retirement age is moved from 65 to 70, it shows a careless regime that does not
understand the youth unemployment crisis. It acts as if Zimbabwe has an ageing
population. That is nonsensical,” he said.
Political
analyst Bernard Magugu said the internal conflict was disheartening for
Bulawayo residents already grappling with poor service delivery. He blamed the
CCC’s lack of structure and discipline.
“There is no
internal discipline and no clear governance guidelines,” he said. “Councillors
act without accountability or alignment to any party principle.”
He said the
absence of a central authority had left councillors to make decisions based on
personal alliances, factional loyalties or opportunism — not public interest.
“It is now a
game of mafia gangs where every fool dances to any song played by the king of
fools,” he said.
Magugu warned
that the leadership vacuum was undermining governance and harming residents.
“Internal
confusion spills into council business, resulting in disorderly meetings,
illegal resolutions and decisions made outside legal frameworks,” he said.
“This is why
someone like Dube can attempt to extend his term unlawfully — and why some
councillors feel emboldened to support it.”
ZAPU
Secretary-General Mthulisi Hanana said strong political institutions were
essential for accountability.
“When there is
no party playing an oversight role, it becomes difficult to hold elected
officials to account,” he said.
“When
institutions are weak, decisions become opaque, corruption thrives and
governance becomes personality-driven. The strength of a democracy lies not in
its leaders but in the institutions that restrain them.” CITE
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