By Nompumelelo Damba
Claim: Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Source: WhatsApp.
Verdict: False.
On Monday, July 4, a news article shared on WhatsApp alleged that Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa was diagnosed with colon cancer. The article states that the diagnosis was revealed after Chamisa sent a prayer request to an Apostolic Faith Mission (AFM) church group.
The article reads:
On 4 June, Chamisa posted in a WhatsApp group called “The Shepherds” where he said.
“I greet you all in the name of Jesus Christ….Today my Dr announced to me that tests conducted on me tested positive to colon cancer….I know this challenging journey will be trying times that needs your prayers….l believe in the healing power of our Lord Jesus Christ By his grace I will be healed,” reads the report.
In response to the news article CCC national spokesperson Fadzai Mahere dismissed the story as fake.
Mahere wrote on Face book “This story circulating on WhatsApp is fake news.”
“The issue of health is very critical for public office holders or aspirants as the constitution states that a sitting president can be removed from office for his or her “inability to perform functions of the office because of physical or mental incapacity.”
Mahere added that the issue was topical during the late former president Robert Mugabe‘s era. Some said his old age and poor health made him frail and unfit for the office of the president.
Further investigation, showed that the WhatsApp link attached to the story was invalid.
Conclusion: A WhatsApp message claiming that CCC president Advocate Nelson Chamisa was diagnosed with colon cancer is false.
