Mugabe warns Zanu-PF against 'Bhora Musango'

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe called on Zanu-PF candidates to reach out to colleagues defeated in divisive party primaries as he rallied his troops for general elections which will now go ahead at the end of the month.

Zanu-PF is working to prevent a number of officials who registered to contest the elections as independent candidates after either questioning their defeats in party primaries or being completely blocked from contesting.

Mugabe told a meeting of Zanu-PF's central committee at the its Harare headquarters Thursday that the party must fight the forthcoming elections as a united front.

"The duty that we all have now and especially those of us who have won and been nominated to stand for the party is to ensure that those who opposed us will support us," he said.

"You have to sit with them individually and talk. Work out a common strategy so that there is no Bhora Musango. Let us win them over. We must go into the election battle united.

"Apart from individuals, our organs must now also assist the process of unity by appealing to those who lost to become supportive of those who won and support the national struggle. This election is a national struggle.

"Let us also try as much as possible if we are in a better situation financially to assist those in situations of need … All of us must arouse the people's revolutionary enthusiasm which I noticed from the queues we had exist among us. Get as many people to vote as possible."