President Mugabe’s Challenger Rules Out Rejoining His Party

Zimbabwe’s presidential candidate, Simba Makoni has ruled out rejoining ZANU PF if elected president in polls later this month but pledged a major shake-up of the country’s political landscape after 29 March.

In an interview on South Africa’s private television station, e-tv, monitored here on Tuesday, Makoni said rejoining the party that chased him out last month following his announcement to challenge President Robert Mugabe was out of the question.

“I will not rejoin ZANU PF when I will the elections. But what I can assure you is that, after 29 March, there will be a major realignment of the political landscape in Zimbabwe,” said the 57-year-old presidential candidate.

Makoni has insisted since launching his presidential bid in February that he is working with “like-minded” individuals within Mugabe’s ruling party and other stakeholders to attain a renewal of Zimbabwe.

So far, former Zimbabwean Home Affairs Minister Dumiso Dabengwa has been the only ZANU PF heavyweight to openly align himself with Makoni’s presidential bid.

Makoni pledged to lend support to Mugabe should the veteran Zimbabwean leader win the polls in a free and fair manner.

“I don’t have any ill-will against Mugabe. I am motivated by the need to move Zimbabwe out of its current situation and not by revenge or retribution,” he said.

The former finance minister has been vilified by ZANU PF supporters in the past month, with Mugabe referring to him as a “political prostitute”.

Source African Press Agency

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