Nelson Chamisa steps down as President of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) | Full Statement

FELLOW CITIZENS, This is to officially, and under my hand, inform you, that, with immediate effect, I no longer have anything to do with CCC.

My focus remains fully on Zimbabwe, asserting your victory, honoring the citizens mandate and God’s calling to provide leadership.

There are fresh things we need to do. Let’s all work together for total freedom, true change and wholistic transformation for our beloved country. Giving up or giving in is not an option. Nothing comes without tenacity and resilience.   Fellow citizens, you will be kept posted on the next steps.

Thank you all for the support and continued prayers as we get ready for the NEW. Let us embrace the opportunities that lie ahead. Change is coming soon! God bless you. #Godisinit 24/01/2024 HARARE, ZIMBABWE

STATEMENT BY ADVOCATE NELSON CHAMISA ON THE FUTURE OF ZIMBABWE.

1. Fellow Zimbabweans, fellow citizens, I come to you with a heart full of
   gratitude and a deep sense of responsibility. I am aware that our beloved
   country is going through very difficult and challenging circumstances,
   politically, economically and socially. The majority of the citizens are flocking
   into the diaspora. Those who are at home are hustling for a living with great
   toil yet without a fair return. Things are hard. Life is difficult. But this must
   and will soon come to an end.
2. It is exactly two years since I announced to you the formation of the CCC. You
   are aware of what has been unfolding over the past years and months in our
   beloved country, particularly during the period of run up to the election and
   to the present day.
3. You will no doubt, recall and distinctly note, the pre-election problems we
   encountered characterized by ZANU PF and ZEC’s refusal to effect necessary
   political, constitutional and electoral reforms.
4. You are aware of the delimitation report fatal errors and manipulation,
   exorbitant nomination fees challenges, the sponsoring of fake double
   candidates, the disqualification of candidates, both presidential and
   parliamentary from participating in the general elections.
5. You may also have noticed our resolve notwithstanding a lot of challenges to
   enter the election race which we did under protest and against all odds. This
   was necessitated by your call and need to give you the citizens, a fighting
   chance.
6. You noticed the intimidation and violence (psychological and coercive)
   unleashed on the citizens of Zimbabwe during and after the elections,
   particularly in rural Zimbabwe.
7. You noticed the incredible and unashamed harassment that we were subjected
   to during our campaigns (the banning of our rallies including the rally to
   launch our manifesto in Bindura and other rallies exceeding 100 in total). And
   this is all on record.
8. You would have noticed the devilish and unashamed attempt by the
   incumbent to disqualify our candidates (12 MPs in Bulawayo and various
   others).
9. You would have noticed unprecedented number of electoral legal petitions
   before the elections which resulted from the incumbent’s attempt to stop fair
   contestation.
10. You would have noticed the bizarre events that occurred on the day of voting
    where despite ZEC preparing for the election for 5 years, failed to deliver
    voting ballots and materials timeously, or at all.
11. You would have observed the involvement of FAZ throughout the country
    (the intimidation of voters, the sponsoring of double candidates, their attempt
    to discourage voting process by unleashing propaganda fliers on the voting
    day, and by setting up illegal tables purporting to be exit poll survey desks to
    intimidate voters, particularly in the rural areas)
12. You would have noticed and witnessed the balanced and authentic election
    observers reports including SADC, AU, Commonwealth, EU, and notably the
    SADC and AU reports which condemned the electoral process and the
    outcome and declared it an almost non-event.
13. You would have noticed despite the overwhelming election observer reports
    pointing to the election as a nullity including our post protestations that the
    incumbent proceeded to declare themself-winner. This formed what is
    evidently an illegitimate and disputed Government.
14. You would have noticed that soon thereafter the incumbent embarked on a
    process to consolidate authoritarianism by decimating the genuine
    alternative.
15. This was realized through various illegal methods and criminal stratagems
    including the infiltration of the alternative and capture of various other
    stakeholders resulting in engineered illegal recalls, financial mismanagement
    of the country’s resources and ultimately resulting in the collapse of our
    economy and our social collapse. This is where we are now, and I will deal
    briefly with the details.

THE LEGITIMACY CRISIS

16. The whole world saw, witnessed and observed our shambolic and sham
    elections. Without being subjective, all credible and independent electoral
    observers have spoken widely and openly about the elections.
17. I particularly wish to salute you the citizens of Zimbabwe for your resolve and
    peaceful disposition. Your efforts were and are not in vain. We extol you the
    citizens for your valor, indomitable commitment and your unbridled
    determination to realizing a just, prosperous and equitable Zimbabwe for
    everyone. What you did on the 23rd of August, albeit in a sham, you made
    history. Your sacrifices made a huge difference. You stopped a one-party state.
    You voted for change. You won. You braved the night cold. Some of you
    travelled from out of the country. You used your own resources. All that effort
    was not in vain.

The steps we are taking now are in defense of your commitment. What is being
fought is your refusal to yield to systematic disenfranchisement and the sham
process.

18. On the day of voting, you as citizens saw the voter intimidation, voter
    suppression and manipulation. You told me about the command voting,
    voting under the instruction and watchful eye of traditional leaders who also
    in turn told me about their predicament of being forced to be partisan when
    their traditional office call upon them to be no partisan and inclusive.
19. You also witnessed an unprecedented voter suppression and non-
    participation when you were denied the right to vote particularly in Harare

and Bulawayo where ballot papers were not delivered. In itself, a clear
contrived scheme to disenfranchise and systematically marginalize voters in
certain targeted areas perceived to be strongholds of the alternative.

20. You also witnessed the midnight voting, midnight printing of ballot papers
    and midnight announcement of “midnight” results.
21. You also witnessed a bizarre presidential ballot paper layout meant to give an
    advantage to the incumbent.
22. You also witnessed the systematic voter displacement, having been registered
    in a different location.
23. You also witnessed the absence of voters roll on the polling station in terms of
    the law.
24. You also realize that ZEC did not respond to all the concerns that we raised
    hence failing to pass the bill of health of confidence and credibility. The
    deficits of the duty of integrity, professionalism, accountability, transparency
    and constitutionality is astounding.
25. You also witnessed the bizarre situation of the incumbent who was also a
    candidate, unilaterally, subjectively and eclectically chose or selected areas for
    the extension of voting.
26. You also noticed that the ink that was used was never tested and availed to
    the contesting parties and stakeholders.
27. You also witnessed the omission of stakeholders not being informed ahead of
    time of the presiding officers and being asked to raise their queries if there
    are any. Further, the election result was not audited, authenticated, validated
    and signed for by the Chief Election Agent of our Presidential Candidate, as
    is required by the law.
28. As you may recall, after the elections I went around the country. I came to you
    when I went on a citizens interface and listening tour. You were very clear that
    the 23 August 2023 elections did not meet the standard or pass the test of
    credibility. The announced result was not an authentic representation of the
    collective of the citizens voices.
29. In addition, I wrote to and petitioned SADC requesting their assistance to help
    us find each other as Zimbabweans. I further dispatched to the SADC region
    and African continent delegations to explain the context of the Zimbabwean
    challenges and our proposed solutions. SADC is to this day still seized with
    this matter. I want to thank African leaders for listening and extending their
    courtesy and magnanimity to us. It is my hope that together as Africans we
    will find African solutions to our African challenges.
30. In conclusion, there can be no doubt that the 23 August 2023 process was not
    a credible election. It goes without saying, that, it is only through an authentic
    and valid election, that a legitimate Government is formed, emerges and is
    recognized by the citizens and the whole world. This simply has not
    happened. This is the legitimacy issue. Proper and credible elections must be
    conducted in Zimbabwe.

ENTRENCHMENT OF AUTHORITARIANISM

31. I salute you fellow citizens. You won against all odds under difficult
    circumstances although the 23 August process was not a proper election.
32. We salute the citizens for stopping oppression and repression. What you did
    matters.
33. After they failed to defeat you in the arena you control as citizens that is the
    ballot, they went to give power to institutions that you do not control.
34. They don’t want to give citizens rights and the opportunity to choose their
    leadership. They don’t believe in one man one vote and they also don’t
    believe in elections, for them the idea is to have a ritual. And for purposes
    for portraying an exercise of an election which is not an election, they want
    to make sure your voice does not matter. They went forward to use the
    institutions they control ie Parliament and courts to make sure the voice of
    the citizen is not heard.
35. All the tomfoolery and the so-called recalls are an attempt to perpetuate the
    taking away of your voice, citizens’ rights. This is as a systematic and
    deliberate disenfranchisement campaign.
36. Realizing the rejection by the citizens, the incumbent, as you can see the
    incumbent has decided and conceived that for their survival they have to
    resort to authoritarianism and repression. Chief amongst their strategy is the
    destruction of the alternative voice.
37. Just twelve days after the swearing in of MPs and Councilors, you saw the
    engineered emergence and sprouting of an impostor masquerading as an
    acting secretary general of CCC, a position and title that did not and does not
    exist in the CCC. This said person purported to wield powers to unilaterally
    recall citizens elected representatives, powers to instruct the Parliament,
    powers to instruct ZEC, powers to instruct the Courts, powers to disregard
    the electorate and power to impose citizens representatives to parliament and
    local authorities.
38. This person who is unknown to us, now single-handedly wields so much
    power. He has basically been turned into an organization, courtesy of the
    Zanu PF.
39. The emergence of this imposter should not be looked at in isolation from the
    23 August sham. They failed to achieve your disenfranchisement through the
    23 August sham. They are pursuing this agenda, till this day, an attempt to
    suppress the voice of you, the citizens.
40. What is mind boggling is the fact that the whole nation has had to be plunged
    into unjustifiable waste of national resources in a wasteful yet avoidable
    expenditure on illegal byelections. This money would have made a huge
    difference in fighting cholera and other social priorities to save and preserve
    lives.
41. Fellow citizens, as you may be aware, we held over 88 rallies. We did our best
    against all odds and under difficult circumstances. Contrary to peddled
    propaganda, we used our own resources-the citizens resources. Our biggest
    donor was you the citizens. We travelled over 29 660 km across Zimbabwe to
    meet the citizens. I vividly recall the hopes and expectations you expressed to
    me wherever I went. The citizens of Zimbabwe in the diaspora and at home
    sustained our campaigns. And we are forever grateful. We were able to raise
    nomination fees for some candidates who did not have. We had posters for all
    candidates. We fielded candidates in almost all constituencies and wards. We
    deployed and supported polling agents in almost all polling stations. This is
    no mean fit. It’s not a small achievement. Surprisingly, at that point the
    unknown person purporting to be interim something had already started to
    pitch camp with the other side.
42. To complete the whole circus, all of a sudden even our competitor ZANU PF
    pretends as if they were born yesterday and do not know who they were
    contesting with on the 23rd of August 2023. Yet, even a grade one pupil knows
    who the leaders and representatives of the CCC are, yet our courts, the
    Speaker of parliament and ZEC claim that they don’t know this common fact.
    Something is definitely wrong.
43. Despite this person not being known to us, this is a clear scheme of the
    authoritarian incumbent to decimate the alternative and perpetuate tyranny.
44. They have now resorted to the abuse of our courts. Through this, as a strategy
    of entrenching authoritarianism. They have sponsored agents that have
    infiltrated the alternative in order to ensure that they install an opposition that
    dances to their tune like what they have always done in the past.
45. For the record, it’s a cardinal political sin to seek to negate clear citizens
    political choices constitutionally expressed through the ballot, albeit disputed
    and contested.
46. Political persecution has also increased. The incarceration without bail and
    ‘conviction’ of lawyer and former MP Hon Job Sikhala, Hon Godfrey Sithole
    and together with other political prisoners is a case in point. Many are charged
    under different political charges, including many human rights defenders.

WHY IS THE INCUMBENT DOING ALL THIS?

47. The incumbent is doing all this because they want a Government-controlled
    opposition and alternative. They also want an opposition that thrives on
    coupons and stipends, joining the feeding trough and the gravy train, almost
    being in a hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil mode.
48. They want to create a weak opposition and a puppet leadership without a
    base, who compromise on fundamentals of democracy, accountability and
    good governance.
49. They are unhappy with an alternative that refuses to be bought or
    contaminated by trinkets and trappings of power.
50. They don’t want us as citizens’ leaders to have access to the political parties’
    funds as enshrined in terms of the Political Parties Finance Act.
51. They also seek to illegally divert taxpayers money and national resources to
    themselves and their created poodles. In essence criminally looting and
    abusing national resources as we have all witnessed in the last 5 years and
    before.
52. The incumbent seeks to destroy our regional and global advocacy for a return
    to legitimacy and majority rule in Zimbabwe.
53. The incumbent seeks to shoot and destroy the messenger in order to kill the
    message of a fraudulent election.
54. The incumbent seeks to divert change champions to focus internally and
    inward and not focus on the bigger picture of legitimacy and a credible
    election.
55. The incumbent has been seeking to fraudulently secure a false and fallacious
    two thirds majority in parliament.
56. The incumbent was embarrassed and wanted to authentic itself hoping that
    they will get away with fraud.
57. The incumbent wanted to discredit the alternative as weak divided and
    without capacity to govern which they fully know that is false.
58. The incumbent was embarrassed they didn’t get a single seat in Bulawayo. So,
    this is a strategy to claw back on the citizens victory, by taking criminally all
    they could not secure through their governance record.

THE CONSEQUENCES OF ILLEGITIMACY – ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
COLLAPSE

59. Fellow citizens, the consequences of a disputed and contested election have
    been too evident for all to see. We are wallowing in abject poverty,
    opportunities are dwindling and our dignity eroded.
60. After the incumbent took office the following has been the status of our
    economic and social circumstances:

 Collapse of social service, in particular the issue of cholera.

 The issue of forced migration: The influx of citizens at the passport office
and the escalating number of citizens leaving the country for other
countries.
 The Government has increased the passport price almost cashing in on the
desperation of citizens.

61. I need not remind you and mention how our economy has deteriorated. Since
    the 2018 sham election when the US dollar was 1:1 now officially it has
    depreciated at the official rate of $9,414 by 944,000% and at the parallel market
    $15, 000 by 1,500,000% despite the misbegotten bragging that the RTGS is the
    strongest currency in the region. The nation has a debt of over $18 billion.
62. The state coffers are empty resulting in high taxation. Pensioners have no
    pension. War veterans are wallowing in poverty. Education is now beyond
    the reach of many. Our teachers are not being paid well. Prices are
    skyrocketing in the shops. Corruption and looting of state resources causing
    entrenched poverty amongst the working class. We are unprecedented high
    levels of corruption.
63. Professionals are disrespected through meagre salaries with no value or to
    their professional skills.
64. The health sector is in a sorry state. Our hospitals have become death traps.
    Most of our medical professionals are leaving the country.
65. We are ranked least happy in the world, highest inflation, highest road
    accidents and highest poverty. We lead in the negative.
66. All this is after the sham election. Can this administration be expected to
    change things? Certainly No. Can the incumbent be expected to transform
    people’s lives and reverse the mess they have created? Clearly No. What is
    very clear is that this administration has absolutely no plan.
67. This is clearly demonstrated by the fact that for the first time in electoral
    history, ZANU PF went to elections without a manifesto. This is a clear
    indication that they have no plan and citizens cannot expect any plan.

THE WAY FORWARD

RETURNING ZIMBABWE TO LEGITIMACY AND MAJORITY RULE.

68. To fix the legitimacy problem and to return Zimbabwe to majority rule we
    need all-inclusive politics for everyone and embark on comprehensive
    political, electoral and constitutional reforms to pave way and create a
    platform for peace, tolerance, reconciliation, unity and prosperity. We must
    get rid of toxicity, hate and selfishness. Leaders in public office must serve and
    not be served. Government must operate on the basis of truth, respect,
    accountability, responsibility and granting dignity to all citizens.

THE CCC

69. As you may be aware, the CCC idea was an idea we prayerfully conceived.
    The original idea meant to place Our God and the Citizens at the center of all
    decision making. This test was not passed and the purpose was not served.
70. The original CCC idea has however been contaminated, bastardized, hijacked
    by ZANU PF through the abuse of State institutions. CCC has not been aligned
    to its founding Purpose and Mandate. Further, CCC has now been rendered
    an extension of and been taken over by ZANU PF. CCC has, to all intents and
    purposes, been criminally handed over to ZANU PF.
71. Our politics has been defiled by schemes of personal aggrandizement upon a
    runaway pursuit of politics of positions, title, benefits, trinkets and trappings
    of office. A contaminated, bastardized, hijacked CCC cannot deliver a New
    Great Zimbabwe! But then God’s grace is sufficient! Indeed God is in it.
72. However, it is not like Zanu Pf is unconquerable, this Zanu Pf you see today,
    you will see it no more. Our God has opened a new way. Unfortunately, the
    road is narrow and I have to meet the demands of my assignment. The citizens
    of Zimbabwe will be set free from the hands of oppression.
73. On account of the absence of any plan by the incumbent to resolve the
    Zimbabwe crisis, the solution to the problems affecting our beautiful and
    beloved country. Zimbabwe must return to legitimacy and majority
    happiness.
74. We as the citizens are duty bound to find lasting answers to our perennial
    national questions. With what has happened to CCC, we need honest and
    accountable citizens in leadership. Stand ready to serve!
75. I have been approached by war veterans, women’s groups, youth groups,
    church leaders, traditional leaders, trade unions, civil society and even various
    leaders on the continent on the ways to find a lasting solution to our problems
    as a nation.
76. Various schemes and carrots have been dangled to entice the undermining of
    the cause for freedom. Some of us have refused silver coins in pursuit of the
    higher ideal- Happiness and Dignity for everyone. It is now clear to everyone
    that big money is finding into the pockets of some, who, on account of poverty
    and material desperation have succumbed to the temptation of enticement.
    The infiltration of CCC and our efforts to wrestle it out of capture, is to our

utmost surprise but not unexpected, been denied through the judicial system-
defying all logic and legal reasoning.

77. We are being thrown into a river with hungry crocodiles, but clearly in our
    view I will refuse to swim in a river with hungry crocodiles. We need to
    extricate ourselves from the shenanigans. I will have nothing to do with sewer
    pond politics.
78. We call upon all citizens to rally behind fresh politics, new politics and
    genuine fresh and credible leaders who want to serve and not to be served.
    ZANU PF can take everything that we sweated for, take the party and its
    name, take the money and whoever is a beneficiary of this fraud, is a certified
    fraudster.
79. This is to officially, and under my hand, inform you fellow citizens of
    Zimbabwe and the world, that, with immediate effect, I no longer have
    anything to do with CCC.
80. As a patriot, I remain active in public service. I also remain a loyal citizen
    listener, freedom advocate, a citizens’ champion and leader.
81. My focus remains fully on Zimbabwe, asserting your victory, honoring the
    citizens mandate and God’s calling to provide leadership.
82. There are fresh things we need to do. Let’s all work together for total freedom,
    true change and wholistic transformation for our beloved country. Giving up
    or giving in is not an option. Nothing comes without tenacity and resilience.
83. Fellow citizens, you will be kept posted on the next step.
84. Thank you all, fellow citizens for the support and continued prayers as we get
    ready to lead and play a nation-building role in a New Great Zimbabwe. Let
    us embrace the opportunities that lie ahead. Change is coming soon! God bless
    you. #Godisinit