Staff Reporter

Citizens Coalition for Change leader (CCC), Nelson Chamisa, lacks leadership qualities to steer the opposition party to dislodge ZANU PF from power, the Harare Post has learnt.

A source who spoke to this publication said that some British diplomats confided in him that the West had lost confidence in Chamisa whom they viewed as weak and politically incompetent.

The source said that the British diplomats accused Chamisa of alienating founding members of the opposition, preferring to work with young Turks such as Fadzayi Mahere and Gift Siziba and also running CCC like a family business.

“The diplomats (British) were blunt on their criticism of Chamisa. They said Chamisa was relegating the founding senior members to the peripheries of that party and said that he was creating enemies from his former allies. They said Chamisa had nothing much political to learn or gain from his association with Mahere and Siziba. These diplomats accused Chamisa of practising student politics,” said the source.

The source added that the British diplomats were of the view that the alleged factional fights within CCC were created by Chamisa because of his disrespect for senior members like Job Sikhala, Tendai Biti and Charlton Hwende.

According to the source, the general feeling within the diplomatic community was that Chamisa was not a politician to be trusted to dislodge ZANU PF from power.

 “The general feeling in the diplomatic community is that Chamisa has no chance to defeat (President) Mnangagwa in this year’s presidential elections. The diplomats opine that Chamisa’s unlikely victory would be catastrophic for Zimbabwe as he is an unstable and immature politician whose grasp of the country’s political discourse is characterised by paranoia which has led him to alienate most senior opposition members,” said the source.

The same source said that Chamisa was urged to take a leaf from ZANU PF’s way of doing things as the Party has accommodated its old guard, a move that has brought stability ahead of the 2023 elections.

The source added that the British diplomats argued that CCC would not win the forthcoming elections as it was a one man party with no structures to steer that party to electoral victory.

Meanwhile, British Embassy in Harare has reportedly put aside its past confrontantional approach against the Government of Zimbabwe and is willing to work with the Government as evidenced by the Embassy’s funding of the health and education sector, as well as climate smart agriculture which enhances food security.