Kagera Region members of the Chadema national governing council have challenged the recent suspension of party vice-chairman Chacha Wangwe which was approved by the party's national executive committee.

The members, who vowed to vote against the decision during the forthcoming meeting of the council, said the suspension of Mr Wangwe was a result of deep-rooted problems among the party's top brass which should first get cleared instead of "victimising the critics within the leadership".

A governing council member who requested for anonymity said the suspension of Mr Wangwe was a result of machinations of some individuals "who were not ready to see any of the party's national leadership positions held by members hailing from regions other northern part of the country".

He said such ideologies were the very reasons behind the defection of the party's former vice-chairman, Dr Walid Amani Kaborou, who shifted to CCM, paving the way for Mr Wangwe to replace him.

"Clear opposition by the party's top leadership to Mr Wangwe's election was a sign that they were not ready to work with other than individuals from the northern regions," the governing council member underlined. Without giving figures, he said that the nomination of women MPs for the special seats slots was conducted with bias whereby those elected originated from the northern regions.

He said that is why during Mr Wangwe's election, members from other regions opted to use the popular slogan "people's power" to fight the stereotyped northern party dominance entertained by the top brass. However, he said together with members from the rest of the regions, Kagera council members were prepared to fight tooth and nail to ensure democracy within the party was nurtured, adding that leadership cannot be imposed on Chadema members.

"You know this is costing our party a lot because the defection of Dr Kaborou for instance led our party to lose many councillors to CCM," the concerned activist noted. Dr Kaborou was Kigoma Urban MP for years before crossing over to CCM. The party won a majority of councillors in the town council, holding the Kigoma urban mayorship for two five-year terms.

If the party calls governing council members for a meeting to endorse the suspension of Mr Wangwe, the Kagera group vows to ensure that the meeting was attended by eligible members "so that democracy and people's power take their right course," he further stated. "If Mr Edwin Mtei and other founder members believe that the party's top leadership should be dominated by people from their tribe they were no different from what Robert Mugabe was doing," they said.

It was high time this group was reminded that democracy starts from bottom to the top and not otherwise, they quipped. The members charged that the leadership's failure to support party activities at regional levels owes to lack of transparency as financial affairs were handled by a small group of people.

"Party members knew nothing about what friends from inside and outside the country had donated to support their party," the Chadema stalwart observed. Kagera is represented by three members in the national governing council, two of whom stay in the region and one resides in Dar es Salaam.