{"id":1326,"date":"2025-11-20T19:24:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T19:24:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=1326"},"modified":"2025-11-20T19:24:38","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T19:24:38","slug":"nkulumane-by-election-zanc-switches-to-bhebhe-as-december-poll-nears","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?p=1326","title":{"rendered":"Nkulumane by-election: ZANC switches to Bhebhe as December poll nears"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by MANGALISO TSHUMA<\/em>
BULAWAYO \u2014 IN a pivotal move ahead of the Nkulumane parliamentary by-election in Bulawayo on 20th December 2025, the opposition Zimbabwe African National Congress (ZANC) has announced Nompilo Bhebhe as its candidate, replacing Adelaide Mhlanga.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The party\u2019s President, Timothy Mncube, confirmed the selection to Matabele Today, underscoring the high stakes in this contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The by-election follows the untimely death of Desire \u201cMoyoxide\u201d Moyo, the incumbent Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) MP for Nkulumane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moyo died on 10 October in a tragic accident on the Bulawayo\u2013Gweru highway, when his vehicle collided with an elephant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Widely respected as both a legislator and a poet, Moyo was known for his work on social justice, youth empowerment, and the arts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nkulumane is a key battleground constituency in Bulawayo: historically an opposition stronghold, it has never been won by ZANU-PF, the ruling party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The seat\u2019s symbolic weight has deepened since Moyo\u2019s death, as residents have pledged to carry on his development agenda.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The December by-election features a crowded and competitive field: ZANU-PF, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), ZANC, and the CCC, which has nominated Mothusi Bashimane Ndlovu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond replacing a fallen MP, this contest is seen as a referendum on Moyo\u2019s legacy, a test of opposition unity, and a barometer of political momentum in Bulawayo ahead of future national elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As campaigning intensifies, ZANC\u2019s decision to field Bhebhe signals its ambition to expand influence \u2014 while other parties must navigate both sentiment and strategy to win the trust of Nkulumane\u2019s electorate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by MANGALISO TSHUMABULAWAYO \u2014 IN a pivotal move ahead of the Nkulumane parliamentary by-election in Bulawayo on 20th December 2025, the opposition Zimbabwe African National Congress (ZANC) has announced Nompilo Bhebhe as its candidate, replacing Adelaide Mhlanga. The party\u2019s President, Timothy Mncube, confirmed the selection to Matabele Today, underscoring the high stakes in this contest. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[114,2,7,118,5,44,11,45,3,12,41],"tags":[220,221,219],"class_list":["post-1326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-announcements-events","category-editors-pick","category-events","category-events-events","category-featured","category-local","category-must-read","category-national","category-news","category-politics","category-politics-news","tag-bulawayo","tag-nompilo-bhebhe","tag-zanc-parliamentary-candidate-for-nkulumane-by-election"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe-150x150.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe-300x237.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe.jpg","large":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe.jpg","post-thumbnail":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"administrator","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"by MANGALISO TSHUMABULAWAYO \u2014 IN a pivotal move ahead of the Nkulumane parliamentary by-election in Bulawayo on 20th December 2025, the opposition Zimbabwe African National Congress (ZANC) has announced Nompilo Bhebhe as its candidate, replacing Adelaide Mhlanga. The party\u2019s President, Timothy Mncube, confirmed the selection to Matabele Today, underscoring the high stakes in this contest. […]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["Announcements","Editor's Pick","Events","Events","Featured","Local","Must Read","National","News","Politics","Politics"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":265,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe.jpg",502,396,false],"medium":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe-300x237.jpg",300,237,true],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nompilo-Bhebhe-150x150.jpg",150,150,true]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"administrator","author_link":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/?author=2"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a3d5ebfe727f13fb325bd400aaaf5e789d3e2e20898883d9ae8e3d3d42d58cef?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"Announcements<\/a> Editor's Pick<\/a> Events<\/a> Events<\/a> Featured<\/a> Local<\/a> Must Read<\/a> National<\/a> News<\/a> Politics<\/a> Politics<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1326"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1328,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1326\/revisions\/1328"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1326"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1326"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matabeletoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1326"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}