‘Zanu-PF sponsoring recalls to shift CCC attention away from stolen elections’

Former Deputy Prime Minister Professor Arthur Mutambara believes that the chaotic recall of opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) legislators is being sponsored by Zanu-PF in order to shift the conversation away from “stolen elections”.

Zimbabwe’s harmonised general elections, held on the 23rd and 24th of August, were marred by massive irregularities including voter suppression and interference of state security agents in form of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to allegedly make sure the incumbent President Emmerson Mnangagwa wins.

Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda this week announced the vacancy of 15 Parliamentary seats after the recall of CCC members by a shadowy individual calling himself the party’s secretary general, Songezo Tshabangu.

The party, however, denies the validity of Tshabangu’s move saying he is not a member of CCC. They are saying all communications regarding party members in Parliament is directed to their leader Chamisa.

The 15 recalled MPs have since approached the court seeking an order setting aside Mudenda’s directive.

Mutambara, however, argues that the recall controversies are being driven by Zanu-PF to divert attention from the recent elections which Chamisa claims were rigged and for which he is calling for a fresh plebiscite.

“The MP ‘recalls’ and Chamisa ‘overthrow’, Ko macomrades muri kurashika papi? Why are you surprised? Were these not the obvious Zanu-PF next steps?

“Why are you talking about the law? Why are we this naive? These are clearly illegal political actions by Zanu-PF. Period,” he said.

“Zanu-PF knows that these are illegal political actions. And they carried them out deliberately, with full knowledge of the illegalities involved.

“They couldn’t care less.

“Why do you spend time talking about the law? Explaining to us what the Speaker should have done legally? Really?

“Of course the Speaker knows the correct legal action to take, but deliberately chose illegality! It is Politics, Stupid! (blame the profanity on Bill Clinton).

“The Speaker is carrying out Zanu-PF’s political actions. I just don’t get it. Why are you surprised by these Zanu-PF political actions?”

Mutambara said Zanu-PF is doing this in order to shift the “CCC conversation away from stolen elections, election re-run, NTA, SADC/AU intervention etc.

“…to put the CCC in a defensive posture as they pursue basic survival away from proactively challenging fraudulent elections and ED’s illegitimacy.

“…to pay the CCC in kind for boycotting ED addresses in parliament. To destabilize the CCC in parliament so they have no capacity or time to wage such struggles.”

He further added that the aim of the ruling party is to “humiliate” the opposition party by forcing it to fight for their basic survival in the very same courts that they have said are captured.

“… here is the Zanu-PF killer punch (supposedly) to CCC: a) You go to court (on the recalls and overthrow) and win, you have lost anyway. Why?

“Because you have spent energy, time and resources defending what was clearly yours in the first place. The opportunity cost is huge.

“Also, if you are not careful the struggle/momentum to overturn the fraudulent elections will be lost by the time you win the existential court battles gifted to you by Zanu-PF. Also your court victories will be used by Zanu-PF to say the courts are NOT captured.

“b) You go to court and lose, you have really lost for sure.”

Former Norton legislator Temba Mliswa accused opposition MPs who were in the 19th Parliament of failing to support calls for the amendment of the Section 129k of the Constitution which gives a political party power to recall its members from the National Assembly.

“In May 2021 I moved a motion under which I sought to have Section 129 K repealed as it shackles legislators, denying them freedom to independently debate issues for fear of being recalled. Out of a House of over 210 members only Hon Mushoriwa participated by debating the motion.

“The rest of the MP literally refused. It was baffling considering how the opposition movement has been a direct victim. Today the same law haunts them again. The very same law which they refused to debate and remove from the Constitution has come back to haunt them,” Mliswa said.