Mugabe postpones rallies after failing to mobilise crowds in Bulawayo
By Tererai Karimakwenda
18 March, 2008

Robert Mugabe is reported to have postponed rallies planned for Bulawayo for a second time, after his structures in Matabeleland failed to get enough people to attend. Our Bulawayo correspondent Zenzele said ZANU-PF officials in Matabeleland are not campaigning much for Mugabe. He has had problems in the province and lost officials like Dumiso Dabengwa and Cyril Ndebele to the Makoni campaign. Zenzele added to this the fact that schools are now closed and there are no school children gathered anywhere that can be forced to attend the rallies.

According to our correspondent, Mugabe was scheduled to address supporters at Cowdry Park last Thursday. This is an area of Bulawayo where ZANU-PF gave houses to their own supporters, houses that were meant to be given to displaced victims of Operation Murambatsvina. The rally was postponed to this week Thursday without any reason given.

Zenzele said The Chronicle, a government-run newspaper in Bulawayo, on Tuesday confirmed that Mugabe would address two rallies this Thursday. One was to be at a Primary School in Cowdry Park and the other at Stanley Square in Makokoba district. Zenzele said these are both very small spaces and this shows the ruling party is having problems mobilising large numbers of supporters in the province.

But Zenzele spoke to a ZANU-PF Central Committee member who told him that the Thursday rallies had been postponed again, until Sunday. No announcement has been made yet.

According to Zenzele there is not much campaigning for Mugabe in Matabeleland in general. He attended a Mugabe rally at Esigodini last week which he said was “not well-attended.” Rallies addressed by Vice Presidents Msika and Mujuru have suffered poor attendance as well. Zenzele said in contrast, rallies for the Tsvangirai MDC have attracted the largest crowds so far during this campaign.