BULAWAYO – Sengezo Tshabangu, the self-proclaimed interim secretary general of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), has been dramatically ousted from the party, setting the stage for his potential removal from the Senate.
The decision, announced by CCC spokesperson Willias Madzimure, follows a disciplinary hearing where Tshabangu was found guilty on four counts of misconduct.
The charges stemmed from Tshabangu’s controversial actions between November and December of the previous year, including the unauthorised reshuffling of CCC parliamentary portfolio holders.
The party also cited his public disparagement of Professor Welshman Ncube, the acting party president, after receiving a prior suspension. According to Madzimure, these actions violated the CCC’s constitution and brought the party into disrepute.
“Having found Sengezo Tshabangu guilty of all the charges, and having regard to the gravity of the acts of misconduct of which the Committee convicted him, the Committee decided to sentence him to expulsion from the party with immediate effect,” Madzimure stated.
Soon after the 2023 elections, Tshabangu went on a rampage, unilaterally recalling numerous CCC MPs and councillors, claiming they were no longer party members.
His actions were widely seen as a calculated move to destabilise the opposition, particularly targeting allies of former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa.
He was assisted by key state institutions such as Parliament and judiciary.
Due to his recalls, Zanu-PF managed to attain a two-thirds majority in Parliament setting stage for the ruling party to launch its push for the constitutional amendments to allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his term of office beyond the constitutionally mandated two-term limit.
The disciplinary committee’s decision, which Tshabangu’s lawyer, Kucaca Phulu, confirmed, was met with disdain from Tshabangu’s legal team.
Lawyer Nqobani Sithole dismissed the proceedings as a “charade,” asserting that the party lacked the necessary structures to enforce such a decision. However, Sithole acknowledged that Tshabangu attended the hearing to “simply tell them that they are a charade.”
His expulsion paves the way for his removal from the Senate, a symbolic end to his brief but tumultuous period within the CCC.
In December last year, Ncube’s faction took Tshabangu to the High Court for unilaterally announcing parliamentary changes without consulting the party’s decision-making bodies.
The High Court sided with Ncube’s group, prompting Tshabangu to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.
