President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s spokesperson George Charamba has warned the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa against mass action to force ZANU PF to the negotiating table, saying such a move will have dire consequences for the party and its leader.
Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Charamba urged Chamisa to negotiate with Sengezo Tshabangu claiming the latter is willing to be engaged “at least for now”.
Tshabangu is a CCC activist who declared himself the party’s interim secretary general in October this year and has since recalled scores of CCC representing thereby whittling down opposition numbers in Parliament.
Charamba warned that if Chamisa believes that “mass protests will have takers, will last and will soften ZANU PF to the table, he needs to be reminded who he is dealing with”.
He seemed to be suggesting that the State’s security establishment will ruthlessly crush any mass protests organised by CCC. Said Charamba:
I have been reading stories on Chamisa’s so-called CNA meeting which took place yesterday. Among statements, which purport to be resolutions, released after the meeting, coupled with subsequent interviews with the media, Triple C, it would appear, is toying with the idea of mass action, ostensibly to “force ZANU PF to the negotiating table”!
… A key principle in politics is understanding your customer; there is no clue anyone in Triple C, least of all Chamisa, works with this elementary political principle which informs what does and cannot do. Politics is the art of the possible.
The Government deployed the military in central Harare on 1 August 2018 to crush suspected MDC Alliance supporters who were protesting against an alleged delay in releasing election results. At least six people were shot dead whilst fleeing from the soldiers.
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