Chamisa blasts ZANU PF for “dangling cash and trinkets” to lure opposition defectors, and vows “our time will come”

Former CCC leader Nelson Chamisa has vowed that the opposition’s time to govern Zimbabwe will come. He also accused ZANU PF of dangling cash, trinkets, and promises of personal benefits to lure opposition members to defect.

Chamisa spoke out days after the former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) Bulawayo provincial chairwoman, Tendai Luba Masotsha, defected to ZANU PF.

Masotsha, a vocal critic of the ruling party who was active in the MDC, the MDC Alliance and later the CCC, announced her move on Tuesday, when she was welcomed at ZANU PF headquarters in Harare. She described it as a “conscious, patriotic” decision, influenced by development under President Emmerson Mnangagwa.

“[ZANU PF] is so embarrassingly low and annoyingly crazy. They are so desperate to the extent of setting up a special committee and allocating a whole budget to decimate the genuine alternative and true opposition,” Chamisa said.

“They are approaching virtually everyone who has stood against oppression over the past years in Zimbabwe, dangling cash, trinkets and promises of personal benefits in exchange for abandoning the struggle and joining the oppressors.

“Some, weary and exhausted by the long journey, are succumbing to these crumbs. Expect more to fall for this fading convenience at the expense of enduring for a legacy of integrity and consistency.

“But why jump onto a sinking ship simply because those aboard are throwing money around?”

Chamisa praised supporters who had stood firm.

“I salute every citizen who refuses to be bought, bribed or broken. Your integrity and resilience is worth more than their temporary rewards. Principles are not for sale, and the struggle for genuine change and national transformation cannot be reduced to a marketplace of short-term political bargains.

“Easy come, easy go. The struggle has never been easy, and the road ahead is now shorter. We must remain focused and steadfast. We are fighting for something greater than personal gain: the freedom, dignity and future of our nation.

“Our convictions are not for sale. Our destiny is not negotiable. No matter what! Our time will come. And when it does, let history remember those who stood firm when others were tempted to surrender.”

Responding on X, presidential spokesperson George Charamba wrote: “Ko ndidzo politics dzachozve nhai Moyo [Well, isn’t that what politics is all about, Moyo?]. We in ZANU PF seek to annoy and frustrate you. Thanks for confirming we are actually doing it effectively!”