A bitter public feud and procedural chaos at the Bulawayo City Council over Town Clerk Christopher Dube’s contract are being seen as symptoms of a deeper crisis, a “fatal” leadership vacuum within the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) that has left its councillors unaccountable and politically adrift. The turmoil follows conflicting legal claims about the status of Dube’s employment, with Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart and his deputy, Edwin Ndlovu, issuing sharply contradictory statements over the legality of a council meeting held on 5 November 2025. The councillors at the centre of the controversy were elected under the CCC ticket in 2023, a party that has been fractured and leaderless since Nelson Chamisa resigned in early 2024.
Chamisa stepped down after a leadership challenge by Sengezo Tshabangu, who exploited the party’s “strategic ambiguity” and plunged the CCC into a succession crisis. A planned 90-day rotational leadership, involving Professor Welshman Ncube, Tendai Biti and Lynette Karenyi-Kore, later collapsed. Although Tshabangu is now recognised as Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, deep confusion over the party’s leadership persists.
Analysts say this internal disintegration has created a power vacuum that councillors are now exploiting with impunity. In an interview with CITE, legal expert Dr Vusumuzi Sibanda accused Deputy Mayor Ndlovu and a group of councillors of violating procedure and defying the mayor’s authority, allegedly under the influence of political forces pushing for Dube’s contract extension. “The failure by the deputy mayor to respect and observe the chain of command shows he is working for those people pushing to change term limits,” Dr Sibanda said.
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“We know CCC is in shambles. There is no political leader now, so councillors do as they please or as the current Secretary General wishes, after he managed to usurp authority.” He said that without clear political direction, councillors were acting in their own self-interest. “People do as they wish according to where they think their bread is buttered.
Maybe they also hope their own terms will be similarly increased,” he added. The controversy stems from a chaotic full council meeting on 5 November, where Mayor Coltart says he adjourned proceedings due to “total disorder”, “threats” and “slanderous vilification”.
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