Of late the opposition party has been going through turbulent waters with internal criticism increasing
Dar es Salaam. Just a year or so to the next General Election, the leading opposition party — Chadema — is going through rocky times. Some analysts have warned that if the turmoil is not handled well, this might well be the beginning of the end for the party.
But while some members worry about the situation, others see the developments in the party as a baptism of fire: It will either come out of it stronger for the experience and pose a serious challenge to the ruling party next year or simply fade into oblivion.
The party itself believes that the discontent is part of the machinations of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM), which stands accused of using stooges to sabotage Chadema--accusations that CCM denies. In recent days, Chadema has witnessed a wave of members attacking the party from within, with a number of them quitting. Chadema has disowned most of the defectors. There is widespread speculation of an exodus of Chadema members, who are said to be headed for the Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT-Tanzania), which has been launched by a number of former prominent Chadema leaders who were kicked out of the party.
Recently, a group of Chadema members wrote to the registrar of political parties, asking him to investigate reports of illegal amendments to the party’s constitution. They also wrote to the Controller and Auditor General(CAG) requesting a thorough audit of the party accounts following allegations that some leaders at party headquarters had squandered the subsidy that the party receives from the state.
As if that was not enough, the registrar said earlier in the week that a section on term limits in Chadema’s constitution had been removed illegally. In light of this development, Mr Freeman Mbowe and Dr Willibrod Slaa would not be eligible for leadership posts in the party if an election were to be held today.
Those who have written to the registrar and CAG accuse Chadema National Chairman Freeman Mbowe and Secretary General Willibrod Slaa of embezzling party funds and conspiring to change the constitution by removing the section on term limits so they can continue holding their positions. Mr Mbowe and Dr Slaa have denied the allegations.
Mr Mbowe wondered why the Registrar got involved in Chadema’s internal affairs when matters to do with the party constitution should be handled by members.
The party’s director of information and publicity, Mr John Mnyika, says this upheaval is part of a “dirty” strategy to weaken the party. According to him, Chadema is continuing with its strategy to strengthen the party at grassroots level across the country. “All is well in Chadema,” Mr Mnyika said. “What has been going on is part of what was dubbed the strategy for changes, which was initiated by Chadema traitors.”
A CCM official, who did not want to be named because he is not the official spokesperson of the party, said Chadema should stop blaming others for problems it had created itself. “There is no one who is sponsoring others to sabotage Chadema,” he said. “At least not in CCM, as we have the noble responsibility of fulfilling our election manifesto.”
But Mr Mnyika maintained that ACT and the registrar of political parties were being used wreck Chadema.
ACT General Secretary Mwigamba dismissed the claim, saying the party has never been used by anyone. Chadema should focus on rescuing their party instead of playing blame games. Some political analysts see things differently, though. According to a political science lecturer at the Open University of Tanzania (OUT), Mr Emmanuel Mallya, the events in Chadema are simply business as usual in Tanzania’s politics ahead of a general election.
Every significant opposition party has been experiencing turmoil ahead of elections since the country re-adopted multi-party politics, according to Mr Mallya. He added: “We saw it in NCCR ahead of 2000 General Election. We saw it in CUF ahead of the 2005 elections. It is no wonder that we are seeing this in Chadema ahead of the 2015 General Election.”
Mr Richard Mbunga of the political science department at the University of Dar es Salaam chose to see this as a sign that all is not well in the main opposition party.
