Lema: Selfishness behind Chadema’s leadership crisis

Dar es Salaam. Former Chadema Northern Zone chairman and ex-Arusha MP, Godbless Lema, revealed yesterday that selfishness among the party’s top leaders is at the heart of the growing leadership crisis within the opposition party.

He made the revelation during a press conference in Dar es Salaam to publicly declare support for Vice Chairman, Tundu Lissu, ahead of the upcoming intra-party elections.

Chadema is expected to elect the national chairman, and vice chairmen for the mainland and Zanzibar during the general assembly slated to take place on January 21, 2025.

The assembly meeting is preceded by the election of leaders for party wings for the youth (Bavicha), women (Bawacha), and elders (Bazecha), which commenced in Dar es Salaam on Monday.

At the national level, Mr Lissu is challenging the incumbent chairman, Freeman Mbowe, who is seeking re-election. Lissu’s challenge has prompted heated debate within the party, with calls for Mr Mbowe to reconsider his candidacy in favour of a broader party-wide transformation. Mr Lissu is backed by former youth wing chairman and Tarime Urban MP, John Heche, who is contesting for the vice-chairmanship.

In contrast, Mbowe’s faction has put forward former MP and Victoria Zone chairman Ezekiel Wenje as a candidate for the same role.

Mr Lema discussed the widening rift, highlighting that various leadership and political interests were at play, particularly regarding senior party members, including Mr Lissu, who had not originally intended to run for the chairmanship.

Other key figures involved include Mr Heche, Mr Wenje, Deputy Secretaries-General Benson Kigaila (Mainland) and Salumu Mwalimu (Zanzibar), as well as Joseph Mbilinyi (Nyasa Zone) and his rival in the recently concluded zonal elections, Mr Peter Msigwa, who has since defected to the ruling party, CCM. In response to a journalist’s question about when he believed Mr Mbowe began to go astray, Mr Lema outlined key moments when internal efforts to oust several leaders gathered momentum.

Among those targeted were himself, Mr Heche, Mr Lissu, Mr Msigwa, and Mr Msigwa.

“We initially agreed that Mr Heche would contest in Serengeti, I would seek re-election, Mr Lissu would run for vice-chairman, and Mr Mbowe would continue as chairman. We all pledged to support one another,” explained Mr Lema during a live televised broadcast.

However, he noted that the situation began to deteriorate as efforts to unseat them emerged, creating increasing challenges in executing his duties.“I raised my concerns with the chairman and asked if there were directives from his office. He promised to schedule a meeting, but I soon found myself isolated in a WhatsApp group, apparently because we come from the same region as the chairman,” said Mr Lema, referencing the fear of confidential information being shared.

Mr Lema recounted a meeting at his home in Arusha with Mr Mbowe, Mr Lissu, Mr Heche, and Mr Wenje, where Mr Lissu voiced concerns about the chairman’s weakened stance. “Mr Lissu said, ‘We’ve identified issues with you, Mr Chairman. If you assure us you’re genuine, I won’t interfere with the chairmanship nomination forms.’”

He also recalled Mr Lissu questioning the chairman: “If Mr Lema, Mr Heche, Mr Msigwa, and I should go, who will support your presidential campaign?”

Mr Lema reminded the chairman of the time when he and Mr Msigwa had helped Mr Lissu after the 2017 assassination attempt, urging Mbowe to arrange another meeting to reaffirm their commitment to one another. Despite this, Mr Lema claimed that the situation did not improve.

He mentioned raising concerns about the internal conflict between Mr Msigwa and Mr Mbilinyi.

He shared that during his visit to Dar es Salaam, Tunduma, and Sumbawanga, he advised Mr Mbowe to reassure Mr Msigwa, who feared for his parliamentary seat that his interests remained intact. “Instead, the Nyasa Zone election was flawed and unfair to Mr Msigwa,” said Mr Lema.

Further attempts to resolve the issues, including a proposal to reunite Mr Msigwa, Mr Lissu, and Mr Heche during the Northern Zone operation, proved futile after Mr Mbowe declined the inclusion of Mr Msigwa. Mr Lema also described a conversation with Mr Heche, who alleged that Mr Mbowe had asked Bob Wangwe to collect nomination forms for the Serengeti Zone leadership position, despite Mr Heche’s established record.

“I spoke with the chairman, and he admitted to contacting Mr Wangwe. I asked, why remove the strongest members?” said Mr Lema.

Mr Lema recounted how he had to step in when Mr Wenje announced his intention to run for vice-chairman. Despite his intervention, Mr Wenje went ahead with his announcement, further intensifying Mr Lissu’s concerns about the party’s direction.

“If key members like Mr Heche, Mr Lema, Mr Msigwa, and I are sidelined, the party is in danger,” Mr Lema quoted Mr Lissu as saying.

Despite Lema’s repeated efforts to organise a retreat to address these concerns, the party’s secretary-general dismissed the idea, citing a lack of funds.

Mr Lema insisted that a retreat could still be organised with contributions from willing members.

“The retreat was crucial to prevent the party from falling apart,” he stated, adding that his decision to withdraw from all party groups was prompted by the failure to address these unresolved issues.

He also raised concerns about the party’s internal structure, pointing out the problematic situation in which the wives of two deputy secretaries-general are among the 19 ‘defiant’ MPs in Parliament.