A South African publication has disclosed that a British company that predicted in February that Citizens Coalition for Change leader Nelson Chamisa would win the presidential elections in Zimbabwe did some work for the CCC in the just ended elections.
The Daily Maverick did not say what type of work the Sabi Strategy Group did for Chamisa but the company says it is a campaign strategist and one of its staff members helped Zambian President Hichilema Hakainde win the polls in 2021 after five previous attempts.
The publication disclosed Sabi’s involvement with the CCC at the end of an article written by three senior officials of the company.
The opinion piece was written by Jonathan Moakes, George Chichester and Emily Osborne ad was entitled: SADC’s election report leaves Mnangagwa desperately out in the cold with only one option — reform.
The publication says at the end of the article: “Jonathan Moakes, George Chichester and Emily Osborne work for the SABI Strategy Group, a communications and campaigning firm based in London and Johannesburg.
“Disclosure: The SABI Strategy Group (who the authors all work for) conducted work for the Citizens Coalition for Change during the Zimbabwe elections.”
The Sabi Strategy Group said in February, way before the election date had been announced, that Chamisa would win the poll by 53% while his party would poll 52% of the vote. President Emmerson Mnangagwa would get only 40% of the vote and so would his party, the Zimbabwe African National UNion-Patriotic Front. It also said 75% of the people would vote.
Chamisa won 44% of the vote and his party, 37% of the seats in the national assembly, while 68% of the registered voters went to the polls. Mnangagwa instead won 53% of the vote and his party 63% of the seats in the national assembly.
Chamisa has rejected the results of the poll but CCC councillors and Members of Parliament were sworn in on Wednesday and Thursday. He has appealed to the Southern African Development Community and the African Union to call for fresh elections which will be run by outsiders.
Although the Daily Maverick did not disclose what the Sabi Group did for CCC, the company is a campaign specialist and one of the staff members worked on Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema’s campaign.
Hichilema was elected in August 2021 after five previous attempts.
According to the company’s website, Sabi says it “provides comprehensive, research- driven campaigns and strategic communications support to international corporations, political leaders, family offices and advocacy groups across the world”.
“Our mission,” it says, “is to help clients to identify and communicate behaviour-changing messages to target audiences. Our campaigns are built upon in-depth investigative research, data analysis and polling. We then provide counsel and execute the campaign strategy through all appropriate channels, to ensure our client’s message is translated into positive action amongst target audiences.”
Moakes, the company says, joined SABI Strategy Group from American campaigning consultancy, GQR Research. Prior to GQR, Moakes was both the Chief Executive and Chief Strategist for the Democratic Alliance (DA), the official opposition in South Africa.
“He is a multi-skilled organisational leader and an expert in strategy, communications, campaign design and campaign management. Jonathan has consulted to corporates, governments, advocacy groups, political parties and candidates in over fifteen countries on four continents.
“Jonathan specialises in transforming strategic insights and messaging recommendations from qualitative and quantitative research into actionable campaign plans focused on delivering a core message in volume and over time to an identified target market.”
Moakes is a director of the company.
Chichester is an account manager.
The company says Chichester is an experienced communications and public affairs advisor. He assists clients with in-depth political analysis and stakeholder mapping, as well as specialising in digital content and social media campaigns.
“At SABI Group, George has advised private and public corporations on how to best leverage their external communications through both conventional and digital media. He has helped companies at every stage in their development: from launch, to IPO, to specialised single-issue campaigns.
“In 2021, George supported the digital and third-party communications for the UPND Alliance’s successful election campaign in Zambia, resulting in President Hakainde Hichilema taking office on 24th August. George continues to advise on African politics, as well as providing policy analysis to UK and EU clients, particularly in the field of sustainability. “
Osborne is a junior associate of the company and assists SABI’s research and communications operations, supporting its political and corporate clients in areas of political analysis, stakeholder mapping, and media insights. She also supports SABI’s open-source intelligence research. – ZimInsider
