There have been several reports in recent weeks suggesting Makoni was on the verge of leading a group of rebels from Mugabe’s ruling ZANU PF party to form a new opposition party to contest elections set for March. None of the reports – all largely based on nameless sources – have provided tangible evidence of an impending rebellion in the ruling party. Both Makoni and Mugabe have not commented on the newspaper articles while leading political analysts have ruled out the possibility of Makoni or any other ZANU PF leader breaking away from Mugabe at this point. A senior official in Mugabe’s office told ZimOnline that Makoni met the President for an hour at his State House presidential palace on Monday, the same day some international reports alleged the former minister had resigned from ZANU PF. He met with his Excellency on Monday afternoon, said the usually reliable source, who we cannot name because he did not have permission to disclose the meeting to the media. Our source was not privy to the discussions between Makoni and Mugabe. Makoni is the founding secretary general of the Southern African Development Coordinating Conference, for-runner to the Southern African Development Community. He is widely respected in business circles and across the political divide but critics say he lacks grassroots support of his own. – ZimOnline
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