MR Nelson Chamisa has been expelled as leader of CCC a few days after 15 MPs from the crisis-ridden party were recalled from Parliament by interim secretary general Mr Sengezo Tshabangu.
Mr Chamisa is facing a battery of charges from his erstwhile colleagues that include embezzlement of party funds and betrayal of some of the party’s activists.
It is on these grounds that Mr Tshabangu said Mr Chamisa is no longer fit to continue as the opposition party’s leader.
“With immediate effect, Advocate Nelson Chamisa has been expelled from the Citizens Coalition for Change,” he said.
“Nelson Chamisa has been expelled for personalising the party as well as his continued gross disregard of the party constitution amongst other issues including embezzlement of party funds. Last year a total of USD $120 000 was raised for Advocate Nelson Chamisa’s bulletproof car and the money disappeared.
“The party received US$300 000 last month from partner international organisations for Job Sikhala’s legal fees and the money disappeared. The party also received some US $6 million. Part of the money was to fund the training, deployment, and payment of election agents.”
Mr Tshabangu said the money disappeared and the party could not deploy agents at all polling stations.
To steer the affairs of the party ahead, Mr Tshabangu said Mr Chamisa’s frozen former deputies namely; Mr Tendai Biti and Professor Welshman Ncube will assume the powers reins.
“Nelson Chamisa has failed to support crucial party events (October 7 Messina mass demonstration) with the potential of giving citizens victory from the stolen election while resorting to Twitter bible verses and useless parables, citizens want action! Chamisa has failed to petition SADC, the UN and the EU over the stolen August 23 election. Running the party along tribal lines.
“We, therefore, advise citizens to ignore all distractions by individuals working to derail the citizens’ movement. With Immediate effect, Professor Welshman Ncube and Advocate Tendai Biti are acting presidents until the party convenes an extraordinary congress on the dates to be advised and all official communication will be coming from the interim secretary-general’s office,” said Mr Tshabangu.
In a cryptic response to Mr Tshabangu’s statement, Mr Biti only said “I am not the president of any political party. I refuse to be drawn in this mess. May my privacy and dignity be respected”.
However, there is seemingly no love lost between Mr Chamisa and Messrs Ncube and Biti who he shafted under the bus in the recently held August 23 elections, and until now, the two have been slipping into political oblivion.
The charges against Mr Chamisa are however a matter of public record having been accused of pocketing the US$3 million to pay the plus 55 000 election agents for the elections.
“Chamisa has made the party his personal property and it is now running at his own discretion. The party symbol is his face, he makes all crucial decisions by himself and now the party is serving his personal interests, and we cannot allow that.
“Collaboration with Zanu PF and ex-Zanu PF members resulted in heavy infiltration and now the party has been hijacked. Abusing the party name to raise funds for his personal projects. Tarnishing the image of the party through stage managing abductions and through inciting public violence in the name of the party,” he said.
Mr Tshabangu said Mr Chamisa was imposing candidates resulting in the loss of some constituencies and wards throughout the country.
He said Mr Chamisa was also neglecting party loyalists and bigwigs while rewarding friends, relatives, and concubines.
