BEYOND THE BIBLE: Chari Warns Opposition Has Traded Ideology for "Theology"

WASHINGTON D.C. — US-based Zimbabwean pro-democracy campaigner Freeman Chari has issued a scathing critique of the Zimbabwean opposition’s trajectory, arguing that the movement has devolved from a radically ideological force into a fragmented, theological grouping that has "lost its bearings."

In a comprehensive analysis shared on X (formerly Twitter), Chari traced the decline of the opposition from the 1999 formation of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) to the current state of the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC). He warned that the shift toward a "God is in it" approach championed by Nelson Chamisa is no longer a sustainable political strategy. Chari argues that the initial MDC base was hollowed out over decades by internal "toxicity" and personality-driven splits. He notes that as genuine cadres were smeared or sidelined, the gaps were filled by "untested" opportunists who lacked a historical understanding of the struggle.

“By the time we got to 2018, most of the cdes I had worked with since 2001 were on the sidelines,” Chari wrote. “The Khupe incident remains a very bad chapter... It set a very bad base for the MDC-2018.”

The most biting part of Chari’s critique focuses on the ideological void left by the transition to the CCC. He suggests that the "NEW" crop of leaders deployed via the controversial berekamwana selection process has replaced active political resistance with religious passivity.

“The struggle shifted from being radically ideological to purely theological,” Chari observed. “Most of those who viewed themselves as stakeholders were folks... who believe God will intervene; all they needed to do was kneel/pamabvi/emadolweni.”

Chari argues that this shift left the party defenseless when self-imposed interim secretary-general Sengezo Tshabangu began a wave of recalls in 2023. “There was really nothing to defend in CCC. There were no stockholders. CCC had sympathizers, not members.”

Chari’s comments arrive just as Nelson Chamisa has begun signaling a return to the political arena with his "Agenda 2026" movement. While Chamisa claims the movement is "citizen-driven" and aimed at restoring accountable leadership, critics like Chari fear it may simply be more of the same structureless, "prophetic" politics.

Chari’s Key Critiques:

• Lack of Ideology: The movement has moved away from its labor-rooted origins toward a vague theological platform.

• Opportunism: Leadership positions are often filled by those "licking the side where their bread is buttered" rather than committed activists.

• Structureless Crisis: The lack of formal membership structures (stockholders) makes the movement vulnerable to "infiltrators" like Tshabangu.

As Zimbabwe enters the 2026 political cycle, Chari’s warning serves as a reminder that "pamabvi" (on the knees) may not be enough to counter a well-oiled ZANU-PF machinery that operates strictly in the realm of secular power.

Freeman Chari opposition critique 2026