FIRST Lady Grace Mugabe has organised a massive campaign
rally, possibly early next month, with members of various apostolic sects at
Zimbabwe Grounds in Highfield, Harare, as she extends her tentacles ahead of
the Zanu PF extraordinary congress set for December this year.
The rally, which is being organised by former Zanu PF
central committee member and patron of the newly-formed Zimbabwe Amalgamated
Churches Council, Jimayi Muduvuri, is expected to be attended by over 200 000
apostolic sect followers.
Although NewsDay understands that Grace has not yet
confirmed the date for the rally, the sect members were reportedly pushing for
the meeting to be held next week.
NewsDay heard that Muduvuri officially invited Grace last
Friday with her handlers at State House reportedly still consulting on the
proposed date, amid reports that November 1 had been set as the provisional
date for the rally.
Muduvuri was not reachable for comment yesterday, but the
sect’s national co-ordinator Emmanuel Muzhangiri confirmed the development,
saying they were hoping to be addressed by both the First Lady and President
Robert Mugabe.
“The date has not yet been confirmed, but we are meeting
the First Family at Zimbabwe Grounds possibly early November,” Muzhangiri said.
“We are a big organisation and we hope to bring about 200
000 members to meet the First Family. We basically want to thank the President
for the peace in the country, his support for agriculture through the
Presidential Inputs Scheme and for allowing us the freedom of worship we are
enjoying in the country.”
He added: “We will also take the opportunity to express our
concerns that include requesting the President that all church members also
benefit from the Presidential Inputs Scheme that, together with last year’s
good rains, has made the country food-secure.”
Well-placed sources told NewsDay that Muduvuri had over the
past few weeks been traversing the length and breadth of the country meeting
church leaders from Marange, Zion Christian Church (ZCC) and other apostolic
and Pentecostal sects to ensure maximum turnout at the planned rally.
ZCC leader Nehemiah Mutendi, a staunch Zanu PF supporter,
has reportedly been roped in as the master of ceremonies at the rally that
Mugabe would use to lure the more than three million voters believed to be
locked in churches as the ruling party targets over half a million voters in
every province.
Zanu PF has intensified its efforts to reach churches since
last month with Harare provincial commissar Shadreck Mashayamombe invading a
Johane Masowe Church gathering in Kuwadzana under the guise of voter
registration.
After the gathering, Mashayamombe said the church had
requested to be addressed by Grace. He said Harare alone had pledged to
assemble a gathering of over 70 000 members.
“The meeting was successful and the church requested to be
addressed by First Lady Grace Mugabe,” Mashayamombe said then.
“They promised to gather about 70 000 delegates for the
address. We had gone there to request them to register to vote and thank them
for their continued support for President Mugabe.”
In the run-up to past elections, Zanu PF has always used
the Church as its favourite hunting ground with Mugabe and his top officials
leading the campaign. Newsday
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