Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) President, Professor Welshman Ncube, has unveiled the internal chaos and leadership crisis that have plagued the party since 2022. In a candid interview on The Blast Furnace with Ya FM Radio, Ncube attributed the CCC’s significant departure from its founding democratic principles to the influence of a central figure, the self-proclaimed ‘Champion in Chief,’ whom he blames for usurping power and undermining the party’s core values.
Ncube detailed how the CCC has experienced a fundamental shift away from its core values and principles over the past two years. He highlighted that the party, initially founded on ideals such as democracy, accountability, and good governance, has significantly strayed from these tenets. According to Ncube, the CCC began to mirror, or even surpass, the negative characteristics of its opponents.
“If you have a democracy index, and you check the necessary boxes for a democratic organization, such as having a constitution, grassroots structures, collective decision-making processes, and auditing mechanisms, the CCC fails to meet these criteria,” he remarked.
Ncube pointed out several major deviations, including the absence of a constitution for almost two years, the abandonment of organizational structures, and the lack of collective decision-making and auditing processes. “In essence, we moved so far off the democratic rails that we could not, in good faith and conscience, claim to be fighting for democracy,” he added.
When asked whether the issue was due to one individual or a group of people, Ncube responded, “Essentially, it was one person who usurped the powers of everybody else, bypassed democratic processes and procedures, and ran the organization in an undemocratic manner.” He alluded to the self-styled ‘Champion in Chief’ as the central figure behind the party’s problems.
While Ncube refrained from explicitly naming the individual, he stated, “It’s self-evident. The persons who called themselves champions in chiefs are obviously the ones running the show of an undemocratic organization.”
This internal turmoil comes on the heels of CCC leader Nelson Chamisa’s resignation in January. Chamisa, in a 13-page statement, labeled the party as “contaminated” and “hijacked” by the government, declaring, “I will have nothing to do with sewer politics.”
