CITIZENS Coalition for Change (CCC) self-imposed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu yesterday suffered a major blow after most of the party’s lawmakers snubbed his call to tour President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s farm.
The call for a tour of Mnangagwa’s Precabe Farm comes a time when the battle to control the opposition party has escalated among the three faction leaders Jameson Timba, Welshman Ncube and Tshabangu.
Tshabangu had rallied the Members of Parliament to attend the event, which he said was an ideal platform to initiate dialogue with Mnangagwa.
But the majority of the MPs ignored his callas less than 20 lawmakers attended.
The opposition party has 88 MPs and 27 senators in Parliament.
The CCC faction led by Timba whipped its 50 MPs and 11 Senators not to attend the tour.
The CCC led by Welshman said it “discouraged" its MPs from attending the event.
The CCC MPs that participated in the tour are mainly those who were appointed by Tshabangu after he recalled dozens of legislators in September 2023.
Tshabangu yesterday described the attendance as “good”.
“This is the most significant event in the current context of solution-finding, nation-building and consensus,” he said.
“Zimbabwe is our country. We will find a way of solving our admittedly self-evident national challenges. There is an answer, we will find a way. All we need is to be brave."
Some of the Parliamentary representatives who attended include Matabeleland MPs Charles Moyo, Kucaca Phulu and Thokozani Khupe, among others.
Ncube-led CCC faction chief whip Edwin Mushoriwa said the party's legislators did not attend.
“They could not have attended because there was no formal communication from Parliament,” Mushoriwa said.
“I am not aware of any of our MPs who were there because it was not a formal Parliament business.”
The meeting at Precabe Farm has been perceived by many as a strategic move to advance the 2030 agenda, which aims to extend President Mnangagwa's term of office.
The move has sparked fears among some, who view it as an attempt to undermine the country's constitutional term limits.
The development has exposed deep-seated divisions within the CCC, with some describing Tshabangu a Zanu PF proxy.
Those that took part in Mnangagwa’s farm tour have in the past endorsed plans to extend his tenure beyond the constitutionally mandated two terms which end in 2028.
Yesterday’s event was no exception with Tshabangu endorsing Mnangagwa’s continued stay in power.
The endorsement was received with aplomb as Zanu PF lawmakers broke into the song 2030 ndeya Emmerson.
Yesterday’s event was choreographed with some lawmakers wearing caps emblazoned with the hashtag #ResolutionNumber1, a nod to the party's resolution during last year’s annual conference to support a constitutional amendment allowing Mnangagwa to extend his rule.
Former Zengeza West legislator, Job Sikhala, described opposition MPs who attended the function as Zanu PF “implants”.
“They are planted puppets whose agenda is to advance the nefarious agenda of 2030. They are comfortable with the sellout deal as long as they will be eating,” he said.
“. . . they will appear before their master pretending to be representing the people when their agenda is just eating. As long as their stomachs are full, the masses can go to hell. It is now time when the electorate which these people pretend to represent should ask them questions about whose interest they were representing at Precabe Farm. The legitimate owners of power are the masses.”
Political analyst Pardon Taodzera said Mnangagwa’s allies wanted to consolidate power under the guise of national consensus.
“It’s a strategy to legitimise the idea of extending his term. The optics of bipartisanship create an illusion of unity while systematically eroding democratic principles,” Taodzera said.
Law expert, Aaron Hamauswa, said the ruling party was using soft power to neutralise opposition resistance while preparing the ground for constitutional amendments.
“It will be difficult for the opposition to maintain a unified stance when some of their members are seen endorsing such initiatives,” he said.
Mnangagwa has in the past said he is a constitutionalist and wants to rest when his term ends in 2028 despite manoeuvres in Zanu PF to extend his stay. The party’s people’s conference last year endorsed plans to extend his tenure.
Critics said yesterday’s farm visit, which came barely a week after the court barred Tshabangu from effecting changes in Parliamentary portfolios, could be seen as a ploy by the politician to curry favour with Zanu PF ahead of clashes in the CCC.