By Brighton Chiseva
MASVINGO – Former MDC Alliance and the Citizens Coalition for Change Organizing Secretary Amos Chibaya has claimed that Zimbabweans do not follow political parties but people.
Chibaya who was speaking to Masvingo residents aligned with former CCC president Nelson Chamisa said people didn’t care what Chamisa led, but they will simply follow him everywhere he goes.
“Look at the 2023 elections, there is no MP or Councillor who had more votes than Chamisa that tells you what, people in Zimbabwe do not follow a party name but the one who was anointed by God, whether the party is called Mandebvu, Mberikunashe or Mberihakunashe, they follow their leader.
“The reason why Chamisa got more votes than yours, it’s because people want Chamisa and they would simply vote for you because they would have been given three ballot papers and could ignore the MP and Councilor. The evidence is there, let’s go for by-election without him and see,” said Chibaya.
He went on to say Chamisa had managed to stop Zanu PF from getting a majority in parliament but some renegades were reaping what they didn’t sow and gave Zanu PF two-thirds in parliament.
“Chamisa stopped Mnangagwa from getting two-thirds in parliament and in we won 32 out of 33 urban local authorities which means we had a clean sweep in all urban authorities, that angered Zanu PF and Mnangagwa that he failed to get two-thirds,” said Chibaya.
“No one reaps where he did not sow, I hear some saying CCC belongs to Tshabangu, where and when did he form it? It’s you who formed this party after we consulted you here, we went to Charumbira where our cars we blocked.
“So if we say we have left CCC then there is no more CCC. So my message to you is clear. No one should benefit from it. When a home is invaded you leave but you close it first, you don’t leave it in the wrong hands,” said Chibaya.
Also present at the meeting were former Pelandaba–Tshabalala and CCC deputy national spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba, former Binga North MP Prince Dubeko Sibanda, and other Chamisa-aligned leaders.
The team visited some victims of Operation Order No To Land Barons in village 15B, ward 7 of Masvingo West Constituency.
Speaking to the media after the tour, Siziba said the government was supposed to protect people but it was disheartening that after 40 years, it was shifting from the liberation agenda that was access to land.
“We must protect our people, the liberation project was anchored on the agenda to give people land, to give them titles to that land and economic freedom that is found in the land that they are staying on. The right to housing is a constitutional right enshrined in the constitution of Zimbabwe. It’s disheartening now that after forty years, we are reversing the gains of the liberation project.
“That is why we have continued to say as the alternative, our intention, and objective was to protect the legacy of the constitution rather than undermining it, to make sure that we aligned the constitution rather than amputating because these people ought to be protected by government and constitutionally they are supposed to be protected by the institutions of the state but now the vulnerable have been degraded, they lost property and dignity so we are very much worried about what has been happening on this side of the country, no one deserve this after 40 years of independence. We must be talking about how to bring water and electricity to these areas not doing what is happening now, that’s Stone Age politics that we do not agree to, we condemn it with all the contempt it deserves and we have activated our welfare team to do what is human to and support these people as an alternative,” said Siziba
On his part, Chibaya said their visit was to show solidarity with the victims of the inhumane actions by government saying they understand how hard it was for the victims.
One of the victims who identified himself as John Shiri said it was more painful to be sent packing back after having been confident that they had been settled.
“Zinorwadza kudzoswerwa pazero pane kugara pazero,(It’s harder to return to zero than being at zero), we thought we had settled but from nowhere, we were told that we were illegal settlers though we are in our own country where we should be getting somewhere to stay. We have been staying here for some time, we have invested a lot here.
The reason why we are still here is simply because we couldn’t shift because we had projects that we were given by the government like fish, you cannot move them now, to where.
We now have nothing, we sold our properties for sick money, I have an example of my neighbor who sold a car for US$200,” said Shiri.
The welfare team compiled a list of the affected people in the area and the needs they had and promised to mobilize for help.
