HARARE
–
Former
Citizens
Coalition
for
Change
leader
Nelson
Chamisa
has
formally
returned
to
frontline
politics,
unveiling
what
he
called
Agenda
2026,
a
broad-based
citizens’
movement
aimed
at
unseating
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa’s
government
and
delivering
what
he
described
as
a
“fresh
start”
for
Zimbabwe.
Speaking
at
a
press
briefing
on
Wednesday
after
nearly
two
years
out
of
active
politics,
Chamisa
said
Zimbabwe
was
facing
a
“crisis
of
governance”
marked
by
disputed
elections,
economic
collapse,
corruption
and
institutional
decay.
“I
left
the
dance
floor
hoping
somebody
else
would
occupy
it,
but
it
has
remained
vacant.
I
have
seen
it
fit
to
return
to
dance
for
my
nation,
for
the
citizens
and
for
the
future,”
Chamisa
said.
He
accused
the
government
of
presiding
over
rigged
elections,
state
capture
and
the
erosion
of
citizens’
dignity,
saying
the
promise
of
independence
had
been
“hijacked”.
“Zimbabwe
is
gripped
by
disputed
national
processes,
deepening
economic
hardships,
political
uncertainty,
social
collapse
and
moral
decay,”
he
said.
Chamisa
said
that
Agenda
2026
was
not
a
political
party,
but
a
citizens’
movement
designed
to
transcend
party,
tribe,
race
and
class.
“This
is
not
about
positions
or
personalities.
It
is
about
purpose.
It
is
a
movement
by
the
citizens,
for
the
citizens
and
from
the
citizens,”
he
said.
With
no
clear
form
or
structure
for
his
movement,
Chamisa’s
approach
will
revive
lingering
scepticism
among
critics
who
argue
that
his
leadership
style
remains
overly
personalised.
As
leader
of
the
Citizens
Coalition
for
Change,
Chamisa
deliberately
avoided
formal
structures
under
what
he
termed
“strategic
ambiguity”,
a
strategy
supporters
later
blamed
for
leaving
the
party
exposed
to
capture
by
self-styled
secretary
general
Sengezo
Tshabangu.
That
episode
culminated
in
the
recall
of
dozens
of
CCC
MPs
and
councillors
and
Chamisa’s
eventual
decision
to
abandon
the
party
altogether.
His
renewed
insistence
on
a
loosely
defined
“citizens’
movement”,
rather
than
a
clearly
constituted
organisation
with
defined
roles,
institutions
and
lines
of
authority,
will
raise
questions
over
whether
he
has
fully
internalised
the
lessons
of
the
CCC’s
collapse,
or
whether
the
emphasis
remains
on
mass
mobilisation
around
a
central
figure
rather
than
durable
institution-building.
He
said
the
movement
would
focus
on
five
key
pillars:
Building
a
new
national
consensus;
reclaiming
citizen
agency
and
leadership,
preparing
for
a
future
citizens’
government;
driving
a
“moral
revolution”
and
re-engaging
the
international
community
Chamisa
said
unity
would
be
built
“organically
from
below”
through
dialogue,
consultation
and
consensus,
rather
than
elite-driven
politics.
“We
fall
together,
we
rise
together.
There
is
no
separate
destiny
for
a
few,”
he
said.
Chamisa
placed
strong
emphasis
on
Zimbabweans
in
the
diaspora,
describing
them
as
the
“backbone”
of
the
economy
and
promising
them
a
central
role
in
the
movement’s
structures
and
global
advocacy
campaign.
“Our
diaspora
will
no
longer
be
observers.
They
will
be
active
participants
and
ambassadors
of
change,”
he
said.
Responding
to
questions
from
journalists,
Chamisa
dismissed
suggestions
that
Zanu
PF
had
re-mobilised
during
his
absence.
“Zanu
PF
has
actually
demobilised.
It
is
factionalised,
in
debris.
Many
are
still
there
in
body,
but
their
spirit
is
gone.
They
have
joined
the
rest
of
the
citizens,”
he
said.
He
rejected
calls
to
“move
on”
from
the
disputed
2023
elections,
insisting
unresolved
electoral
flaws
must
still
be
corrected.
“If
we
don’t
fix
what’s
broken,
we
will
never
get
it
right,”
he
said.
Chamisa
said
his
call
for
forgiveness
did
not
mean
repeating
past
political
mistakes
or
reviving
former
alliances.
“Only
a
dog
feeds
on
its
vomit.
We
are
not
dogs,”
he
said.
He
also
dismissed
Zanu
PF’s
reported
plan
to
extend
Mnangagwa’s
second
and
final
term
from
2028
to
2030
as
“foolishness”,
saying
Zimbabweans
did
not
support
it
and
that
the
real
issue
was
the
collapse
of
constitutional
order.
“There
is
no
constitution
in
this
country.
It
has
been
shredded,”
Chamisa
said.
Chamisa
said
the
next
six
months
would
focus
on
grassroots
organisation,
legal
and
institutional
work,
rather
than
rallies,
with
a
detailed
programme
of
action
to
be
announced
later.
“The
journey
to
a
new
great
Zimbabwe
does
not
begin
when
we
become
government.
It
begins
with
the
foundation
we
lay
today,”
he
said.