I have taken enough of your lies and propaganda –  Chamisa tells off Hopewell Chin’ono

By Staff Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN opposition leader Nelson Chamisa has accused journalist Hopewell Chin’ono of peddling lies and propaganda, saying he has tolerated the reporter’s tomfoolery for too long.

Posting on X, Chamisa said:

“Dear [Hopewell Chin’ono], a proper and balanced journalist is a truth-teller who reports facts, not fiction. Be a journalist, not a propagandist who peddles lies and misinformation to serve the interests of the oppressors. I have tolerated your tomfoolery for far too long. Enough is enough.”

In a social media post, Chamisa said he had tolerated the journalist’s tomfoolery for too long and called on him to be a truth-teller rather than a propagandist serving the interests of oppressors .

Chin’ono responded back, demanding Chamisa identify any single factual error in his reporting and promising to correct genuine mistakes. He warned that “criticism does not become propaganda merely because it makes you or your supporters uncomfortable” and stated that journalists do not require permission from politicians to do their work.

The post was an apparent response to a lengthy critique by Chin’ono over Chamisa’s leadership model and his recent comments on infiltration within the opposition.

In the post that Chamisa was responding to, Chin’ono argued that the collapse of the CCC was a direct result of Chamisa’s decision to centralise power around himself and refuse to build democratic institutions.

“Nelson Chamisa founded CCC and made himself its president, but refused to establish a constitution, elected leadership or accountable party structures. The only other publicly recognised national officials were spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere, whom he fired on the eve of the election, national organiser Amos Chibaya and deputy spokesperson Gift Ostallos Siziba,” Chin’ono wrote.

“Everything else revolved around him. He selected candidates, controlled decision-making and resisted every call to build strong democratic institutions around the movement, his supporters defended those decisions.”

Earlier, Chamisa had said that when Sengezo Tshabangu hijacked the party, and he left “the CCC snake pit”, few people realised that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was allegedly planning to manipulate the Constitution and using every available means to illegally extend illegitimate term in office.