MASVINGO– Masvingo Mayor Councillor Alec Tabe has been added to a growing list of Masvingo City councillors facing imminent recall, in a dramatic escalation of the internal purge within the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC),TellZim Newscan reveal. The move, however, is shrouded in controversy, with some allegations appearing inconsistent and politically motivated and now threatens to severely undermine service delivery for Masvingo residents. This development comes afterTellZim Newsrecently reported that three Masvingo CCC councillors Esther Zishiri, Alaica Time, and Bernad Muchokwa were facing recall over accusations of supporting an independent candidate linked to former opposition leader Nelson Chamisa.
The initial recall letter was dated September 4 and addressed to the Town Cleck and signed by Rocky Kamuzonda who referred to himself as the CCC Interim Secretary General Masvingo Province. The three were accused of breaching the party’s electoral code of conduct by campaigning for an independent candidate in the ward 7 by elections. “This conduct directly contravene section 67 of the constitution of Zimbabwe which outlines political Rights and the principal’s (sic) they are expected to uphold the highest standard of integrity and impartiality.
“We have received many compliment (sic) from Rujeko and Masvingo residents. As a part (sic) we request immediate action. Remove the aforementioned officials from their position, citing their breach of Electoral Conduct.
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We are writing to you to withdraw them from their position,” read part of the letter. However, highly placed sources within the CCC confirmed that Mayor Tabe had been included in the recall list, which originates from the camp of Sengezo Tshabangu, the controversial interim CCC secretary-general who asserted control over the party’s structures. “Kamuzonda wrote the letter to Masvingo City Council deliberately without Tabe’s name but on the report he sent to Tshabangu, he included his name.
So Tshabangu and team are coming to investigate the allegations,” said a source. The four councilors are accused of defying party directives by allegedly campaigning for Struggle Nyahunda, an independent candidate in the upcoming Ward 7 by-election. Nyahunda is widely perceived to be aligned with Chamisa, who resigned from active politics earlier this year.
However, the allegations against Muchokwa have raised eyebrows, as multiple sources confirm he had been openly hostile towards Nyahunda. Of all the 11 opposition councilors, Muchokwa is the only one who was not supporting Nyahunda. Their rivalry stems from Nyahunda’s alliance with Thomas Mbetu, who challenged Muchokwa in the fiercely contested 2023 primary elections.
“The claim that Muchokwa supports Nyahunda is laughable to anyone who knows local politics. They are rivals, not allies. If anything, Muchokwa is being targeted for being one of the most vocal councilors who consistently posted and praised Nelson Chamisa. All the other 10 councilors openly supported Nyahunda so we wonder why they only chose those 4 leaving all the others,” a party insider revealed.
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