Former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa has said that his interactions with Zimbabweans living abroad, who are longing for political change back home, have strengthened his resolve to pursue meaningful transformation in Zimbabwe.
He described these encounters as a source of motivation, fuelling his commitment to the country’s future.
Chamisa recounted a conversation with an elderly Zimbabwean woman in her 80s, now residing in the UK, which he said deeply moved him and reinforced his sense of duty to fight for a functional and just Zimbabwe. Wrote Chamisa on X on Friday:
Today, I received a call that touched my heart deeply… I will respectfully refer to her as Mama Nobuhle. I’m not sure how she got my number, but from the moment she said “hello,” I felt compelled to stop and listen. Her voice carried wisdom, love, and decades of watching Zimbabwe’s story unfold.
“Mntanami,” she said, “I’ve followed your journey from the very beginning. I’ve believed in your leadership from day one.”
Chamisa said that Mama Nobuhle, who suffers from heart and kidney conditions, shared with him how the healthcare system in the UK has been a great support.
She described how a patient care ambulance collects her several times a week for appointments and treatment, and how she receives appropriate care and assistance to ensure she lives with dignity and respect in her later years. He wrote:
But despite this care, her heart longs to return to her country of birth – the motherland Zimbabwe. And this is the story and aspiration of every other Zimbabwean in the diaspora.
She said, “The desire is always to return home. But how can I? There are no functioning hospitals, no access to proper medicines, and for someone in my condition, even electricity is crucial — yet it’s not accessible.”
And then she said something that truly moved me: “I believe with all my heart that one day I will return to a Zimbabwe where you are leading us into a new dawn — a Zimbabwe where everything will change for the good and for everyone.”
According to Chamisa, the elderly woman went on to name several prominent politicians whom she accused of exploiting the country’s national resources. He said:
She spoke with pain and truth. “Scarf man, KT, WC and all who are pillaging national resources have killed and destroyed our country-Zimbabwe,” she said. “I knew KT as a young man in Gweru. He was under the care of Pastor Bhebhe because he came from a very poor background. And to this day, there’s never been any clarity on how he made his money.”
She said what they have done to the country makes her so angry that she wishes they could one day be thrown into jail for a long time
She pleaded with me — “Please, don’t tell me you’ll leave politics. I know in my heart it is you whom we the people want to lead us. And I know that you will one day lead Zimbabwe.”
I was deeply moved. The palpable hope in her voice — you could feel it, touch it. It reminded me that even those in the diaspora, even those who have settled abroad, carry a living hope to return home one day.
In fact, Zimbabweans are among the most hopeful diaspora communities globally many still dream of a day they can go back home.
It is these types of encounters that really make me so duty-bound to make change happen in Zimbabwe. This is the wind beneath my wings.
It adds fire in the belly in my fight for a functioning Zimbabwe. Things have to change in our country. There has to be real change.
To Mama Nobuhle, and to every Zimbabwean — at home and abroad who solidly believe in a free and better Zimbabwe:
I assure you now, as I assured her, I am clear on what must be done. It is not lost on me. What must be done, will be done.
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