HARARE – Zimbabwean opposition politician Job Sikhala quit the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party on Thursday, calling it a “carcass” that had been infiltrated by the ruling ZANU PF.
Sikhala, a former lawmaker who spent nearly two years in jail, said he would launch a nationwide consultation process to mobilize Zimbabweans for democratic change.
“The mass democratic struggle is people driven and owned. Every struggle waged throughout the world has succeeded when people own it. The masses must own the next decisive stage of our struggle,” Sikhala told reporters at a press conference at SAPES Trust in Harare.
He said he did not fear for his life, despite threats from “my enemies,” and urged Zimbabweans to join him in the fight for freedom, dignity and prosperity.
Read more on the matter:
Sikhala Quits CCC, Calls The Opposition Party A “Carcass”
Find more news in Africa News 24
Sikhala said his consultation process would involve various groups, such as workers, students, farmers, churches, civil society and war veterans, and culminate in a national convention to chart the way forward.
“With or without resources, the people shall carry out this most important task in the decisive phase of our history and our people’s struggle against tyranny for their freedom, dignity and prosperity. To all those who have returned their democratic right to cling to the CCC carcass, I wish them all the best in their project,” he said.
Sikhala further explained that his proposed mass nationwide democratic consultative process “will start from the village, to the ward, district and the provincial level. This process will be conducted by the representatives of different constituent bodies at every level.
“The process will eventually lead to the convening of the National People’s Democratic Convention,” Sikhala said.
He accused the CCC, which was formed in 2022 by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, of being compromised by ZANU PF agents. Chamisa left the party recently, saying it had been hijacked.
Zimbabwe has been mired in political and economic crises for decades, with President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s back against the ropes to extricate his administration from accusations of human rights abuses and economic mismanagement.
Sikhala was freed from jail last week after spending 595 days in pre-conviction detention. He was convicted on Wednesday of publishing falsehoods prejudicial to the state and is due to be sentenced on February 16.
