Calls for unity gather momentum

Saturday 6th August was a special day in the history of the democratic struggle. Never before have calls for unity of the opposition been that loud and clear on a single day and in different parts of the country by different opposition leaders.

On the same day, Zimbabweans United for Democracy (ZUNDE) held a very successful extraordinary meeting of the General Assembly in the capital of Harare that passed a number of significant resolutions. The one resolution we are happy to share with the public at this point in time is that exiled Judge of the High Court of Zimbabwe, Justice Benjamin Paradza, was unanimously endorsed as ZUNDE's Interim President. This signifies the start of a new chapter in our journey towards true democracy in Zimbabwe.

In Chinhoyi, just over one hundred kilometres North West of Harare, Dr Joice Mujuru held a well-attended rally which the police, clearly and unprofessionally taking instructions from ZANU PF, miserably failed to stop. At Gadzema grounds, the Zimbabwe People First leader told hordes of supporters that opposition parties must come together if Mugabe is to be removed from power. She described him as "the biggest male chauvinist" she has ever worked with.

Showing defiance through her khaki fatigues, mai Mujuru said, "Each-man-for-himself does not work. We must come together, all political parties, business people and those from the church and fight our common enemy, old Mugabe. Together we will make it to the promised land". She also reminded the police that they were not working for individuals or political parties but for the nation and would find themselves one day working for a different government.

In the southern part of the country, MDC-T President Morgan Tsvangirai led a demonstration where he also spoke about unity. Addressing his supporters who virtually turned the town of Masvingo into a sea of red, Tsvangirai said "We do not need to fight in our corners. We need a collective fight across the political divide if we are going to succeed".

Team ZUNDE is humbled and encouraged by these sentiments that are at the heart of our message. ZUNDE's primary purpose is to bring together different people and work together to create a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Zimbabwe based on equal opportunity irrespective of our diversity as a people. We strongly believe that together we can do it.

It is most encouraging to hear leaders of two mainstream opposition parties, in two different parts of Zimbabwe on the same day, speaking with one voice on the need for unity. Our prayer is that this is not just political rhetoric. We look forward to working with both leaders as they follow up their words with practical measures.

Two noble initiatives, Coalition of Democrats (CODE) and National Electoral Reform Agenda (NERA) to which ZUNDE is signatory have provided much hope for our potentially great nation. It is time to take the spirit of these initiatives to their logical conclusion and generate the necessary momentum to dislodge ZANU PF in 2018 or even earlier.

Zimbabwe is our motherland. Together we can make Zimbabwe great again. Let us start working together now.

Moses Chamboko
Team ZUNDE
www.zunde.org; info@zunde.org