Bashiru breaks silence amid raging CCM storm

Dodoma. Ruling CCM secretary general Bashiru Ally broke his silence yesterday amid heightened tension in the party sparked by a controversial, hard-hitting letter of complaint penned by his predecessors.

Dr Ally did not directly refer to the unfolding drama featuring two CCM heavyweights -- former secretaries general Yusuf Makamba and Abdulrahman Kinana.

However, he has warned unnamed members against a plot to destabilise the party that they would “face the music”.

“We will take measures against anyone who’s found to be engaging in war of words to score political mileage,” he said.

He was speaking in Dodoma at an event to officially launch the party’s open business spaces for rent. Dr Ally said the changes in CCM were unstoppable, telling off those against them to leave the party and seek refuge in the opposition.

But in an utterance that raises eyebrows, the secretary general commended the party leadership in Dodoma Region for openly castigating his predecessors over the letter.

Mr Kinana and Makamba complained against a mudslining campaign within the party in a letter to CCM’s advisory council two Sundays ago.

The letter has since raised a storm that exposes major cracks within CCM, just a few months before crucial elections.

In response, the CCM secretary for Dodoma Region, Mr Henry Msunga, read a statement from the party’s regional office asking the national leadership to take stern measures against the authors of the letter.

Dr Ally yesterday described the statement as “straight as a ruler”, saying there was no need for further debate over it.

“You should continue being strong, especially when you see dirt being thrown at your party and specifically, at its national chairman, President John Magufuli,” he said.

Dr Ally said the reforms President Magufuli embarked on when he assumed chairmanship had seen the party able to save up to Sh22 billion currently in CCM’s bank account.

He revealed that CCM had only Sh1 billion in its accounts when Dr Magufuli took over.

“All this money was being squandered by a few individuals in the past,” he said.

“So when you hear the ants making noise, you should not be surprised. It does not need an expert in political science to understand the source of all this noise.”

Mr Makamba and Mr Kinana served as CCM secretaries general from 2009-2011, and 2012-2018, respectively.

In their letter, the two complained that there was a force behind utterances against them by a controversial self-proclaimed activist, Mr Cyprian Musiba.

They accused Mr Musiba of plotting to tarnish the image of former party leaders, and linking them to a plot to sabotage President Magufuli. The two urged the authorities to take action against the man.

Dr Ally also showered praises on Mtera Member of Parliament (CCM), Mr Livingstone Lusinde, who lashed out at Mr Kinana and Makamba over the letter.

The CCM strategist said the MP did “the right thing to fix the political atmosphere when he saw that it was getting dirty”.

Last week, Mr Lusinde addressed a press conference where he told the elders to “calm down”, saying what they were receiving was “the fruit of the seed they sowed” while serving at the party’s top position.

He also said they should be questioned for disrespecting President Magufuli.