The Sunday Mail
MDC Alliance leader Mr Nelson Chamisa yesterday came face to face with reality when a paltry crowd graced his rally here, a development which might be ominous for the party, especially with 36 days left to the July 30 harmonised elections.
Opinions polls released so far suggest that the MDC Alliance’s biggest hurdle, Zanu-PF, will win the plebiscite.
Mr Chamisa’s rally was scheduled to start at an open space near Torwood Hall at 2pm, but by 3pm he was nowhere in sight.
The caretaker master of ceremony, who was trying to get the best out of the public address system, openly tried to canvass support from imbibers who were having their drinks closer to the venture to join the sparce crowd.
“We want to start our programme now,” he shouted.
“We are appealing to those who are drinking beer at adjacent bottle stores to come and join us as we want our president (Chamisa) to arrive to a big crowd.
“Kwekwe, we must not disappoint,” he begged the seemingly stoic imbibers.
When Mr Chamisa finally arrived after 5pm, the crowd had become restless, with others having left.
In his address, Mr Chamisa chose to dwell on the anti-Zanu-PF rhetoric.
“We are saying come 30 July bye bye to 38 years of rape, hate, cash crisis and drug shortages,” said the opposition leader.
“We will introduce a digital government to offer instant passport, birth registration documents. People will pay lobola online, rusambo online and trap mice using cellphones.”
Mr Chamisa promised the supporters that once elected into Government, he would end the cash crisis in two weeks. He indicated that leaders should be servants of the people and that national healing is critical for the future of Zimbabwe.
Earlier, MDC-T national council member and Mkoba legislator, Mr Amos Chibaya, appealed to supporters who might have been aggrieved by the party’s chaotic primary elections to desist from “bhora musango”, or dumping the party at the polls.
Mr Chamisa currently stands accused by members of the alliance of reneging on the previous agreed formula of sharing legislative and local authority seats in the next elections
