By TellZim Reporter
MASVINGO – Three Masvingo City Councillors are facing imminent recall amid accusations of supporting an independent candidate linked to former opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, exposing the deep and bitter fractures within Zimbabwe’s opposition politics.
Councillors Esther Zishiri, Alaica Time, and Bernad Muchokwa have been accused by a faction of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) of campaigning for Struggle Nyahunda, an independent candidate in the upcoming Ward 7 by-election. Nyahunda is widely perceived to be aligned with former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa, who resigned from active politics.
The move to recall the councilors is believed to originate from the camp of Sengezo Tshabangu, the controversial interim CCC secretary-general who has asserted control over the party’s structures.
This faction is allegedly backing a rival independent candidate, Prosper Tiringindi, turning the by-election into a proxy war for the soul of the opposition in Masvingo.
The CCC itself failed to field an official candidate, a failure that has intensified internal blame games and recriminations. The Tshabangu-led camp now views support for Nyahunda as a direct challenge to its authority and an act of defiance that warrants severe disciplinary action.
Sources within the council confirmed that recall letters have already been served, though the matter is yet to be formally tabled for discussion. The councillors now await their fate, their political careers hanging in the balance over their alleged loyalties.
Sources who spoke on condition of anonymity revealed that the recall threat was specifically designed to intimidate councilors into submission.
“This is purely a power play to show them who is in charge. Their fate doesn’t lie with the electorate but with the Tshabangu-led team, and here in Masvingo, that power ultimately rests with Rocky Kamuzonda,”said the source.
The vulnerability of the targeted councilors is particularly pronounced in the case of Zishiri and Time, who entered council through the party’s proportional representation quota system rather than direct election.
“These two are especially exposed, they weren’t elected by voters but seconded by the party through a quota system. This makes them easier to intimidate with recall threats since their political existence depends entirely on remaining in the party’s good books,” said the source.
City Mayor, Councillor Alec Tabe, distanced the local authority from the process, stating, “The recall of councillors is not within the jurisdiction of the local authority. This is a party process that follows its own procedures.”
Rocky Kamuzonda, the CCC’s Secretary for Elections in Masvingo who is alleged to have written the letters and delivered them to council, declined to comment, directing all inquiries to the party’s fractured national executive.
The situation underscores the chaotic and volatile nature of Zimbabwean opposition politics, where recalls have become a common tool for factional leaders to purge dissenting voices and consolidate power. The Zimbabwean constitution permits political parties to recall elected officials, but this power rests solely with parties, not the electorate, often leaving councillors and MPs vulnerable to internal party disputes rather than being accountable to the citizens who elected them.
This potential recall has sparked fears about the erosion of elected officials’ autonomy and the stifling of democracy, where allegiance to a faction is prioritised over service delivery and constituency representation. The ongoing power struggle in Masvingo is a microcosm of the broader battle for control within the CCC, threatening to further weaken the opposition’s presence in local governance.
