CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa yesterday made sensational claims that Zanu-PF was bribing his lieutenants to destabilise the party ahead of the 2023 elections.
In a cryptic message posted on Twitter, Chamisa said disloyal members exposed for hobnobbing with Zanu-PF would be expelled from the party.
“A crazy season is upon us. Expect a lot of drama and shifts in the next months. Be vigilant. Watch out. They will and are compromising some even pouring in serious money into various pockets. Some will fall for it and fall by the wayside. Be careful! Act smart! Win Big!,” Chamisa tweeted.
CCC spokesperson Gift Siziba told NewsDay that their investigations have exposed machinations to infiltrate and destabilise the opposition party.
“We are aware of what our opponents are plotting,” Siziba said.
“The regime in Harare wants to have an opposition that they can lead themselves so they are using the Lenin strategy. They are escalating such machinations, but they have not worked and will never work. The opposition has emerged stronger, fit with more vigour and vitality and ready to govern.”
Zanu-PF spokesperson Christopher Mutsvangwa was not picking calls.
In the past Zanu-PF has proudly paraded opposition members who it alleged had crossed the floor.
Some opposition members who crossed the floor to the ruling party such as James Maridadi and Obert Gutu have been rewarded with government posts.
CCC currently has no formalised structures since the formation of the party early this year.
Chamisa and his foot soldiers said they would not be stampeded into having formal structures to avoid infiltration or violence targeted at office bearers.
Analysts, who spoke to NewsDay, said claims that opposition members were being bought with various trinkets by Zanu-PF were expected in the face of widespread poverty in the country.
Political analyst Eldred Masunugure said Zanu-PF had used the politics of the stomach as a strategy to infiltrate the opposition for decades.
“The one who can provide the biggest pie is likely to win the support of an individual. That is the politics of patronage and has become very common in Zimbabwe. Zanu-PF has financial resources, unlike Chamisa’s opposition party which has no funding,” Masunungure said.
“Chamisa’s fear is real and this explains why he has not come up with structures, a party constitution or refused to go for an elective congress which could be easy entries for Zanu-PF on infiltrating.”
Another analyst Vivid Gwede said some politicians were driven by greed for quick riches.
“Not everyone who is in politics is driven by a sense of duty… Some people are there for the money and will jump at every opportunity to get it. And as we know, Zanu-PF uses its control of State resources and it has always used this vantage point to lure people from the opposition,” Gwede said.
“What is even more pertinent is that people are suffering due to the economic meltdown, opposition politicians included, hence their readiness to jump ship at the earliest opportunity.”
Newsday
