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Although Chamisa had insisted that no one else should know, Chin'ono felt someone within the opposition needed to be aware of what was going on for advice, transparency and accountability purposes.
They however both agreed to keep it confidential and proceed as if Magaisa was not in the loop.
A second meeting then took place in February 2022 at State House.
At the meeting, Chin'ono presented a formal proposal written by Magaisa.
The Magaisa document directly contradicted what Chamisa wanted: To become prime minister like Tsvangirai was under Mugabe during the GNU.
Magaisa's proposal stated there was no basis for a GNU before the 2023 elections.
Instead, it proposed a pre-and post-election pact between the ruling party and opposition to guarantee non-violence and free and fair elections, with any GNU only to be considered after the election results which would have defined the balance of forces on the ground between the main parties, their parliamentary representation and new political dynamics.
Realising Magaisa and Chin'ono wanted a holistic political solution to tackle the protracted national crisis through the talks against his ambition to immediately become prime minister, Chamisa changed tack.
He adopted a new strategy and tactical manoeuvre for direct engagement with Mnangagwa.
This is confirmed by the audio where he says Muneri should tell Auxillia that when one is courting a woman for a love relationship, there is no need for an intermediary.
An emissary comes in only when marriage is at stake, Chamisa said, pushing for direct talks.
Even how Chamisa tells Muneri to convey the message to Auxillia reveals friendship between him and the First Lady.
This is consistent with what his allies have always said: He is close to the Mnangagwas.
Chamisa regards Mnangagwa as a brother even when he is 36 years older than him and Auxillia as "maiguru" (elder brother's wife).
As proved by the audio, Chamisa removed Chin'ono as emissary for direct talks with Mnangagwa.
A meeting was then arranged.
It is not known what Mnangagwa and Chamisa later agreed on during talks, but what is clear is that they have an arrangement.
Chamisa never informed his party and its leaders about the talks.
After the 2023 elections which were stolen in broad daylight through voter suppression, Chamisa did not challenge Mnangagwa in court even when the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) rejected the election results.
Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema took a major risk for Chamisa as chair of the Sadc organ on politics, defence and security cooperation to reject the results through the Sadc electoral observer mission led by former Zambian vice-president Nevers Mumba.
In an unprecedented move, Mumba produced a preliminary report that broke with traditional Sadc protocol, openly criticising Zimbabwe's electoral process.
The damning report said the polls were not held in line with the Zimbabwean constitution, electoral laws and the Sadc Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections.
Mnangagwa and Hichilema clashed after that, and the two countries had an unprecedented diplomatic fallout, only fixed recently.
Mumba stood firm, stating the report was a collective Sadc finding based on the Zimbabwean constitution and Sadc guidelines, not his personal opinion.
Sadc eventually released its final report about 45 days after the election, maintaining its critical stance.
Subsequently, Sadc heads of state and government met in Luanda, Angola, in November 2023 where they noted the report.
As the report was embraced by Sadc leaders, the summit fell short of declaring the elections null, focusing instead on regional stability and the DRC conflict.
The report was only killed when Mnangagwa took over as Sadc chairperson in August 2024.
While Hichilema and Mumba fought hard for him, Chamisa did nothing about the situation.
Instead he did not only lose the elections, but also the CCC which was captured by Zanu PF, before going into hibernation.