THE initial choice of Chipadze Stadium in Bindura as the venue of the intended star launch rally for the CCC last Sunday appears to have been a deliberate ploy by the opposition party to play the blame game.
This was supposed to be a very important rally for they were using it to launch their August 23 election campaign.
One would otherwise have assumed the choice of Chipadze would present no problems at all since it is a stadium run by a CCC Council.
However, due diligence should have informed CCC that Chipadze was under renovation.
Consequently, their request was turned down by none other than the local Bindura Municipality, a baby of the CCC.
But, mind you, Chipadze is not the only stadium undergoing renovations. Rufaro here in Harare and Sakubva in Mutare are among some of council stadiums being upgraded
And for that reason, they are a closed shop. That is why Harare football giants, CAPS United and Dynamos, had to swallow their pride and seek tenancy at Barbourfields Stadium in Bulawayo. Imagine CAPS using Barbourfields as its home ground to host Highlanders.
With Rufaro banned, CAPS could then not turn to Gwanzura Stadium as the regulating authority, ZIFA in this case, would not have allowed them since it is not suitable.
This is exactly what CCC did. There was no sense of urgency to look for a suitable alternative for such a key rally.
As a result, the alternative they eventually settled for was deemed inappropriate for security and logistical reasons by the police. The venue fiasco was dragged to the High Court by the CCC for maximum publicity.
At face value, the Bindura rally incident looks like straightforward lack of planning. And yet it could have been planned mischief.
The CCC might have fooled quite a few by rushing to the media, portraying a picture of a party being persecuted — a party being persecuted to the extend of being denied its democratic right to campaign after the proclamation of a general election.
We are not at all surprised by these familiar tricks of this MDC clone.
We have reported before, cases where this Western-funded party has feigned abductions just in order to attract international attention.
Here was an intended star rally given maximum publicity as a mega launch rally for a party the West are looking forward to win.
As we have already pointed out, the CCC must have known that Chipadze, a council stadium, was a non-starter. But for publicity purposes, it is a key feature in Bindura.
However, unavailability of the Council-controlled Chipadze Stadium would play second fiddle to the non-approval of unsuitable venues by the police.
That was what the CCC wanted. If CCC is hoping to gain sympathy through rallies that are barred for not meeting minimum requirements, their trump card was exposed in Bindura last week..
Obviously under the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act (MOPA), there are certain conditions to be met before police give a go-ahead to a rally.
The CCC knows them well. But for ulterior motives, Chamisa’s party, at times, has chosen to deliberately ignore MOPA guidelines.
No doubt ZANU PF and other political parties have found a number of their rallies and meetings barred by police for one reason or another.
They have not turned into crybabies but instead quietly looked for alternative suitable venues. In fact, official records show that since January, police have barred 84 ZANU PF rallies and 59 from opposition parties, including CCC.
We have pointed out before, that for the CCC to run around without a constitution, structures or any policy and rely entirely on ‘strategic ambiguity’ is a recipe for disaster — a cocktail of them for that matter.
The uproar at the candidates’ selection, the chaos at ZEC nomination courts and now with rallies that never are, is ample evidence for all to see the doomed state of this decimated party.
