A people’s convention held by civil society here last week witnessed a clash of opinion over Makoni’s decision to contest the presidency. A group led by National Constitutional Assembly leader, Lovemore Madhuku, militantly dismissed Makoni but information obtained from members who attended the final closed-door deliberations suggest that other organizations, such as the Zimbabwe Election Support Network (ZESN) and WOZA, argued that Makoni needed to be given a chance to prove himself culminating in the resolution to have a meeting of him and civic society leaders.
“There were mixed feelings but in the end, some groups argued that Makoni had showed boldness by coming out in the open and daring to challenge Mugabe and therefore could be genuinely committed to democratic change,” a source said. “It is all up to Makoni to prove that he is indeed for democratic change but he will have to change his position regarding his earlier statement that he won’t quit Zanu (PF).”
Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe leader, Raymond Majongwe, told The Zimbabwean this week that “we as civil society have an open policy and we are willing to meet with politicians”, before declining to comment on the Makoni issue.
Makoni reiterated what he said when he announced his decision last week, “I am willing to work with all Zimbabweans that share the same concerns and are desiring a better Zimbabwe”.
Post published in: News