Citizens’ Coalition for Change (CCC) official Chalton Hwende, who is also Kuwadzana East MP, has appealed for unity among the party’s rank-and-file and allow designated spokespersons to speak on behalf of the party.
Promise Mkwananzi is the party’s spokesperson and is deputised by Gift Siziba.
Posting on X on Friday night, Hwende said the removal of CCC candidates sponsored by party leader Nelson Chamisa from the ballot papers in today’s by-elections shows that ZANU PF is bent on grabbing absolute power at all costs.
Hwende was elected MDC Alliance secretary-general in 2019 before the party morphed into CCC in early 2022.
He has been keeping a low profile even as the party’s self-proclaimed interim secretary general Sengezo Tshabangu was decimating the party by recalling its MPs and councillors,
Pro-Chamisa bloggers have accused him of working with Tshabangu in a bid to wrestle control of the party.
Hwende said the way forward for the opposition is political action rather than resorting to “captured” courts. He wrote:
The court’s decision to remove our candidates from the ballot in tomorrow’s election confirms that ZANU PF is after political power at all costs. We all have known this fact about ZANU since 2000.
We also know that the majority of the people know that President @nelsonchamisa is the leader of the democratic struggle and is the best foot forward.
We also know that Courts are captured and NO decision that will benefit the people will be delivered in those Courts.
We also know that the only way forward is Political action, mass action by the people. We must stop trying to push other leaders out of the democratic movement. We need unity of purpose to confront ZANU.
We need more ground action and less X (Twitter). We must also leave our communication department to comment and deal with the current issues.
Hwende’s comment is unhelpful we have people who are entrusted with the responsibility of communicating for the Party.
Trolls must stop pushing other leaders out of the movement we need unity and more unity!
Hwende also denied claims that he signed papers for a parallel CCC candidate in Masvingo Urban Ward 2 for the by-elections. He said:
Someone has alerted me to a claim by a dubious parallel candidate in Masvingo Urban Ward 2 that I signed for him or her. This is the CIO at play trying to divide our people. I never signed for any candidate in the last Elections in 2023. This is a fact that can be confirmed ku @ZECzim. Stop believing nonsense by regime enablers.
An X user suggested that Hwende and his colleagues were back on the social media platform after accomplishing their plan and looking for sympathy so that they could survive in 2028. Hwende responded:
I have a company that employs 24 people in Zimbabwe, 53 in Namibia and 17 in Angola. Parliament pays $300 and RTGS equivalent of $200. My receptionist in Namibia gets paid N$14000 which is equivalent to $750 so I am in parliament to serve the good people of Kuwadzana East.
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