BULAWAYO – Former Citizens Coalition for Change leader Nelson Chamisa and a small group of his supporters were attacked by suspected Zanu PF youths at a lodge in Bulawayo on Sunday, ZimLive has learnt.

Chamisa, who has been publicly teasing a new political party, was meeting with a select group of loyalists at a lodge in the city when a band of thugs reportedly travelling in a Honda Fit and wearing worksuits stormed the location armed with machetes, axes, sjamboks and other crude weapons.

A source briefed on the incident described scenes of panic as the brutes attacked the attendees and their vehicles, including Chamisa.

“Some jumped over walls and others hid around the lodge. A Range Rover belonging to Patrick Cheza was badly damaged. I heard Chamisa’s trousers were torn,” the source said.

Cheza was the losing candidate for CCC in Chirumanzu constituency in the August 2023 elections and is now seen as a member of Chamisa’s inner circle.

Cheza had not answered questions sent to him and calls were not returned.

Amos Chibaya, one of Chamisa’s trusted lieutenants, confirmed he was in Bulawayo on the day but insisted: “I was never at the mentioned lodge and I was never attacked. The rest is Zanu PF propaganda.”

The 48-year-old Chamisa, who quit the CCC in January 2024 claiming infiltration, was in Bulawayo to attend a memorial service for the late ward 2 councillor Joyce Ndlovu, at the Amphitheater. It went ahead without him with a small crowd in attendance.

Some of his loyalists are disturbed Chamisa ordered secrecy over the incident, a source told ZimLive.

“It’s confusing why he would order everyone who was there to keep the incident to themselves. This was a select group of people, and many are keen to prove their loyalty so they won’t say a thing. But was the fact that the venue and time of the meeting leaked not problematic in itself? Someone leaked,” the source said, asking not to be named.

Chamisa announced plans for his new political movement on January 23 this year, setting 180 days for its formalisation. Saturday was day 176.

The Zanu PF government is in panic mode and has been cracking down on dissent amid widespread opposition to recently passed constitutional amendments to extend president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term and scrap direct presidential elections in favour of a vote by parliament.

Online opposition activists have threatened to stage protests against the new law on July 31, which might explain the attack on Chamisa, who still commands a large public following.

(Story edited to carry Amos Chibaya comment)