BULAWAYO – Twenty of the 32 Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) MPs and senators who attended a field day at President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s farm in Kwekwe on Sunday were appointed to parliament by party hijacker Sengezo Tshabangu after he recalled the legitimate representatives, ZimLive has established.
The CCC has 115 lawmakers in parliament – 88 in the National Assembly and 27 in the Senate.
Of the 32 MPs and senators who answered Mnangagwa’s invitation, 20 including Tshabangu were not on the original party list for the August 2023 elections.
Zanu PF channels circulated a list with 34 names of CCC lawmakers they said were in attendance, including Ellen Shiriyedenga and Truswell Chikomo, but the duo strenuously denied going to the farm.
The trip by MPs to the farm was not organised by parliament but Mnangagwa’s office. MPs were personally phoned by provincial ministers.
Midlands minister Owen Ncube appeared to take the lead on the programme, writing letters to fellow provincial ministers directing them to invite all MPs from their provinces to the event.
He wrote: “His Excellency the President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Cde Dr E. D. Mnangagwa and Her Excellency, the First Lady of the Republic of Zimbabwe, Dr A. Mnangagwa will be hosting Members of Parliament at his Precabe Farm, Sherwood, Kwekwe.
“In light of the above, you are requested to extend this invitation to Honourable Members of Parliament in your respective province to tour Pricabe Farm…”
Mnangagwa’s supporters are agitating for him to stay in the presidency past 2028 when his second and final term is set to expire. The plan reportedly could involve MPs voting to extend the life of the current parliament to 2030, and then changing constitutional provisions to extend the presidential term to seven years. Lawyers say the plan would require a constitutional amendment and a public referendum – a formidable hurdle for the 82-year-old.
Tshabangu is desperate to offer his and his loyalists’ support to Mnangagwa, hoping in turn the Zanu PF leader will help him in his battle to wrest full control of the CCC after recent legal setbacks.
Tshabangu was a relative unknown in the CCC until months after the August 2023 election when he declared himself the party’s interim secretary general. He wrote a string of letters to the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda, Senate president Mabel Chinomona and the local government minister recalling dozens of elected representatives. The letters were swiftly acted upon as Zanu PF targeted the resultant by-elections, winning a large majority of them and building on its parliamentary majority.
He filled proportional representation vacancies with his loyalists, and took a seat in the Senate himself as a senator for Matabeleland North. It was mostly these loyalists who trekked to Mnangagwa’s farm on Sunday – but 83 other CCC lawmakers stayed away, viewing the trip as a partisan event designed to aide Mnangagwa’s political designs.
Tshabangu’s authority to recall CCC representatives is the subject of a pending court challenge. Last week, the High Court barred him from reassigning CCC MPs in parliament, a judge ruling that the reshuffle was akin to recalls, which the courts have prohibited him from making until the main matter of his legitimacy is decided.
CCC interim leader Welshman Ncube announced last week that Tshabangu has had his membership of the party suspended pending a disciplinary hearing over the purported changes to the party’s leadership in parliament. If found guilty and expelled, this would result in his removal from the Senate, exposing his loyalists to an uncertain future in parliament.
List of CCC MPs and Senators who attended Mnangagwa Field Day at his Pricabe Farm
1: Nyasha Batitsa, Manicaland, National Assembly (Recall Replacement)
2: Samantha Mureyani, Manicaland, National Assembly (Recall Replacement)
3: Maxwell Mdhluri, Manicaland, Senate (Recall Replacement)
4: Media Kupfuma, Manicaland, Senate (Deceased Replacement)
5: Juliana Makuvire, Harare, National Assembly (2023 Proportional Representation)
6: Bridget Nyandoro, Harare, National Assembly (Elected MP Southerton in 2023)
7: Moses Manyengavana, Harare, Senate (Recall Replacement)
8: Kudakwashe Matibiri, Harare, Senate (Recall Replacement)
9: Takudzani Kunaka, Harare, Senate (Recall Replacement)
10: Melphina Gwabeni, Midlands, National Assembly (Recall Replacement)
11: Josiah Makombe, Midlands, National Assembly (Elected MP Gweru Urban 2023)
12: Sisasenkosi Ndebele, Midlands, Senate (2023 Proportional Representation)
13: Diana Marikano, Mashonaland East, National Assembly (Recall Replacement)
14: Constance Chihota, Mashonaland East, National Assembly (2023 Proportional Representation)
15: Maggie Ngwena, Mashonaland East, Senate (2023 Proportional Representation)
16: Thokozani Khupe, Bulawayo, National Assembly (2023 Proportional Representation)
17: Samukeliso Maseko, Bulawayo, National Assembly (2023 Proportional Representation)
18: Charles Moyo, Bulawayo, National Assembly (Won by-election after legitimate CCC MP recalled in Mpopoma-Mzilikazi)
19: Linda Sibanda, Bulawayo, Senate (Recall Replacement)
20: Kucaca Phulu, Bulawayo, Senate (Recall Replacement)
21: Ottilia Sibanda, Bulawayo, National Assembly (Recall Replacement)
22: Sengezo Tshabangu, Matabeleland North, Senate (Recall Replacement)
23: Theresa Kabondo, Matabeleland North, Senate (Recall Replacement)
24: Lovejoy Sibanda, Matabeleland North, National Assembly (Youth Quota, 2023)
25: Francisca Ncube, Matabeleland North, National Assembly (Women’s Quota, 2023)
26: Lungile Ncube, Bulawayo, National Assembly (Recall Replacement)
27: Spiwe Munemo, Mashonaland West, Senate (Recall Replacement)
28: Tawanda Bvumo, Mashonaland West, Senate (Recall Replacement)
29: Tsungirirai Rungwave, Masvingo, National Assembly (Recall Replacement)
30: Sam Chapfudza, Masvingo, Senate (Recall Replacement)
31: Nonhlanhla Mlotshwa, Matabeleland South, Senate (2023)
32: Joseph Bonda, Matabeleland North, Hwange West (Elected Hwange West MP in 2023)
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