All roads lead to Masvingo

ion to hold its 8th anniversary in Masvingo last Sunday, but the opposition has deferred the celebrations to this Saturday.
The police barred the MDC meeting ostensibly because Vice President Joice Mujuru was due to address a rally there. The High Court dismissed the excuse by police to bar the opposition rally, saying Mujuru’s function was not scheduled for Mucheke Stadium, where the opposition intended to hold anniversary celebrations.
“We will look back with a mixture of happiness and tears to eight years of a dedicated people’s struggle for change,” said spokesman Nelson Chamisa.
The celebrations would provide an opportunity to clarify the party’s decision not to stand in the way of the passage of Constitutional Amendment No 18 in Parliament, he added.
The MDC has been accused of selling out by civic society leaders by voting together with Zanu (PF) in passing the amendment, which empowers Mugabe to handpick a successor and expand the size of Parliament.
“At our last Congress in 2006, we set for ourselves a roadmap whose key signposts included a democratic resistance programme that would culminate in dialogue with the regime as a way of unlocking and resolving the Zimbabwean crisis,” Chamisa said. “The on-going SADC-brokered dialogue between Zanu(PF) and the MDC reflects an achievement of the goals we have set for ourselves.”