Chin'ono clarifies stance on Chamisa

Prominent Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin'ono has dismissed suggestions that he is embroiled in a personal feud with former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa, insisting that his differences with the opposition figure are purely political and centred on leadership style.

Responding to a message from an X follower who urged him to reconcile with Chamisa, Chin'ono said he has no personal issues with the politician.

"I have no personal problem with Nelson Chamisa, why should I settle anything with him when we don't have a personal quarrel?" he wrote. "I simply do not agree with his style of leadership, and that can only change if that style changes. I follow ideas, not personalities."

The award-winning journalist drew a distinction between his disagreements with Chamisa and his past exchanges with former Norton legislator Temba Mliswa, with whom he clashed publicly before eventually reconciling.

"Mliswa attacked me, I responded, and he apologised and withdrew the attack," Chin'ono explained. "How is that in any way similar to a journalist not agreeing with political ideas? There are millions who also do not agree with Chamisa's style of leadership, should they also be expected to make peace with him, and if so, how?"

Chin'ono stressed that politics should be rooted in accountability and the contestation of ideas, rather than in manufacturing personal quarrels and reconciliations where none exist.

His comments come amid ongoing debates within Zimbabwe's opposition about Chamisa's leadership record and the direction of the democratic movement following his surprise resignation from the CCC earlier this year.