“I will never sell out!”-Morgan promises

pt”>“No! The amendment is actually going to push Mugabe out of power,” shouted an MDC supporter as a lorry arrived at Mucheke Stadium here on Saturday. Someone in the truck retorted; “I disagree, Tsvangirai must be careful of not selling out. This deal is dangerous and can lead to the demise of the MDC.”

The MDC (Tsvangirai) held its eighth anniversary celebrations in Masvingo under a cloud of tension and uncertainty following the passing of the 18^th Amendment Bill in parliament recently, which has triggered serious debate and conflict.

The journey from Harare to Masvingo was surprisingly devoid of any problems. There had been fears of the Zanu (PF) regime employing its usual tactics of trying to frustrate the MDC celebrations through the use of state security agents as well as its terror troopers. There were only two roadblocks on the highway from the capital to Masvingo, and the police in attendance were more concerned about long distance trucks than the cavalcade of MDC vehicles carrying leaders and supporters to the celebrations.

Masvingo city woke up on Saturday with clouds that promised downpours and was generally a hive of activity. Entering the small city centre, we witnessed crowds of mainly young children at the showground to attend the annual show. About 200 metres away, lo and behold, a motorcade and we all wondered what Robert Mugabe was up to, and how he had gotten there because the last time we heard, he was in Egypt.

But it was his deputy Joice Mujuru on her way to the showground. Observers wondered what she was going to do with the crowds of young kids and a show dominated by second hand clothing and conspicuously empty cattle pens.

Mucheke Stadium was still close to empty by 11am, and pangs of trepidation were evident among MDC leaders already at the stadium. The clouds seemed to develop towards a downpour. But more pervasive was the political cloud of uncertainty.

Some 282 kilometres away, in Bulawayo, Non Governmental Organisations (NGO)s were meeting, and all sorts of speculation and fears had preceded this day. Civic groups had not minced their words in condemning the decision by MDC to support the 18^th Amendment with the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) calling it an “act of treachery”. The Bulawayo meeting was not only a counter attraction to Morgan Tsvangirai’s sojourn to Masvingo, but also expected to reveal the swing of power and losing of ground by the main opposition party.

The crowd swelled as the clock ticked towards the lunch hour. By 2pm there were smiles on the faces of MDC leaders as the crowd had grown to more than 20 000 and more were still coming. The threatening sky and downpours became irrelevant.

Master of Ceremonies, party spokesman Nelson Chamisa, kept the crowd busy with chanting of slogans, singing and dancing. Party President, Morgan Tsvangirai, came straight to the point when he stood up to deliver his keynote address.