Zimbabwean freelance journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono has claimed that the ruling party, ZANU PF, desperately wants the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa arrested ahead of the 2023 general elections.
Chin’ono says the ruling party is afraid of Chamisa, a former Minister of ICT during the Government of National Unity (GNU).
Chamisa faced ZANU PF candidate, President Emmerson Mnangagwa in the 2018 presidential election, and lost the poll which he claims was stolen by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) in connivance with the ruling party.
Some political analysts claim that Chamisa has a chance of winning the 2023 presidential election given reports of factionalism in the ruling party which can lead to a protest vote.
They also say the deteriorating state of affairs which has seen members of the public plunging into abject poverty is a strong motivation for the electorate to vote for an alternative government. Chin’ono wrote on Twitter:
Zanu PF is desperate to cancel the 2023 elections because it knows that it has no chance in hell of winning them. Zanu PF wants some chaos to happen to justify cancelling the elections. Alternatively, they want Nelson Chamisa to be arrested and convicted to stop him from contesting.
Meanwhile, local preacher, Talent Chiwenga says Chamisa’s arrest will likely trigger a revolution in the southern African country.