MDC, CCC fight over Bulawayo party office

The MDC led by Douglas Mwonzora has issued a statement claiming ownership of the opposition party offices in Bulawayo now occupied by the Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) party, CITE revealed.

Mwonzora's party criticised the CCC youths who repainted it blue on Monday and requested that the party vacate their property immediately.

This comes after CCC youth members repainted the Getrude Mthombeni House blue on Monday and hung a portrait of former party leader Nelson Chamisa, raising speculation that this was the colour of Chamisa's new political party.

However the MDC expressed concern about the "blatant disregard" for property rights and the rule of law as demonstrated by certain members of the CCC, who were formerly identified by their yellow colours but seem to be adopting blue .

At the same time, Sengezo Tshabangu who poses as the interim secretary general of CCC, also claimed ownership of the party house,  stating the party would take legal action against the youth, labelling them criminals."  

In a statement released on Tuesday, the MDC Secretary for Information and Publicity, Aaron Makahamidze, said while they acknowledge the internal challenges in CCC, the party urged them to uphold the principles of the rule of law and respect property rights.

"Despite our repeated attempts as law abiding citizens to communicate with senior officials of the CCC, requesting the vacation of our property in Bulawayo ,as well as several other properties across the country in their respective provinces, it appears that co-operation has been lacking," Makahamidze said.

The MDC spokesperson implored CCC to abide by the law, stating the party "or whatever nomenclature it chooses is led by individuals with legal backgrounds and self -proclaimed advocates of constitutionalism."

"The MDC unequivocally condemns such uncivilised behaviour and strongly urges the CCC to vacate our premises without further delay." Makahamidze said.

Meanwhile, Tshabangu also threatened to take legal action soon.

"Those are the criminals that we have been talking about that have surrounded the president. We are preparing court papers to stop this and any other such criminal activity," he was quotedin local media.

Sources told CITE that Getrude Mthombeni House is owned by Laphonic, which was an MDC business arm and most properties during the early stages of MDC were registered under such companies, citing Harvest house now called Morgan Richard Tsvangirai House as another example.