In the escalating leadership battle within the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Singiso Tshabangu, who has styled himself as interim Secretary-General of the party, has denied claims that Professor Welshman Ncube is the acting president of the CCC.
Chabangu is embroiled in a legal dispute with a faction loyal to Nelson Chamisa over who legitimately leads and runs the party.
The conflict intensified when the faction allied with Chamisa, which is insisting on Chamisa’s resignation in January, filed an urgent application with the court to block the disbursement of Zimbabwean dollars 22,116,500 under the Political Parties (Finance) Act. Chabangu claims that the money should be managed under his leadership.
This faction, supported by Youngerson Matete, has filed an application against the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice to block any potential payments to Chabangu or other parties they say are not authorized to represent CCC.
The faction maintains that Chabangu’s actions, including the recall of elected members of parliament, are illegal and unauthorized.
In the midst of the legal battle, Professor Ncube applied to join the proceedings, arguing that as the acting president of the Central Criminal Court, he had a significant interest in the case. Chabangu strongly disputes this claim.
In his founding affidavit, Professor Ncube stated that he is the acting president of the “true and legitimate CCC”.
“This is an application to join the proceedings under Case No. HCH4235/24, brought by CCC and Youngerson Matati on 27 September 2024,” Professor Ncube said, adding that he learned of the case through social media and news articles.
Ncube said his participation in the case would help prevent unnecessary lawsuits and speed up the resolution of disputes by ensuring that all parties with legal interests are represented.
However, in his notice of opposition, Chabangu disputed Ncube’s claims, stating that he lacked the authority to act on behalf of the party. Chabangu said that according to the party’s constitution, an acting president could only be appointed through an extraordinary conference, which Ncube did not convene.
“He claims to have become acting president after the resignation of Nelson Chamisa, but he does not claim that there was an extraordinary conference as required by the party constitution,” Chabangu said.
Chabangu further confirmed that Professor Ncube’s term of office expired in May 2024, making his claim to the presidency invalid.
“The elected officials at the 2019 Gweru conference held office for a period of five years, which expired on May 27, 2024,” Chabangu said. “Consequently, Professor Ncube’s term of office has expired and he is not the acting president of CCC.”
Chabangu also noted that Professor Ncube’s failure to hold a conference, as required under the party’s constitution, makes his claim to the leadership legally inadmissible.
Chabangu spoke of several meetings he held with Ncube and other party leaders to discuss restoring the legitimacy and constitutionality of the party. But these meetings failed to produce actionable results, with Ncube ultimately rejecting the proposed way forward.
A mediator was later brought in to help resolve the dispute, but despite extensive discussions, Professor Ncube did not respond to the draft proposal or attend a follow-up meeting, leaving the leadership battle unresolved.
Chabangu also accused Professor Ncube of failing to participate in key court cases relating to the party, alleging that Ncube’s interest in the current case is primarily linked to the distribution of party funds.
“If he truly had a direct and substantial interest in the party, why did he not participate in any of the 60-plus impeachment and byelection lawsuits?” Chabangu asked. “His sudden interest coincides with the issue of money.” Site