PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe's last star rally ahead of watershed elections this week failed to live up to its billing as the veteran leader failed to fill Harare's 60,000-seater National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
Several sitting bays at the giant stadium were unoccupied and scores of supporters could also be seen walking towards the exit points barely 15 minutes into the veteran leader's long speech.
Proceedings also started rather ominously for Mugabe as a mini football match organised to demonstrate the concept of bhora mugedhi/bhola eghedini ended up sending the wrong signals with the keeper, dressed in red (MDC-T colour), who was supposed to have let the ball in ending up making a save.
And as if that were not bad enough, when President Mugabe took to the podium having been introduced by his deputy, Joice Mujuru, some of his supporters started walking out of the stadium.
The police had to form a human shield to block them from leaving the stadium but, determined, some fashioned all kinds of excuses to get past the barricade.
"Ndoda kuenda kunotora chipepa changu mwanangu (I want to pick-up my paper bag my son)," said one elderly lady as she tried to find her way past the barricade.
"We are hungry we need to buy some food outside," shouted supporters at one of the exits.
Unfazed, Mugabe warned voters in the capital against repeating the 2008 "mistake" when his Zanu PF party lost all but one of the local parliamentary seats.
"If you repeat what you did in 2008 of voting again for the MDC-T I will be surprised, that day I can even have a heart attack," he said.
The Zanu PF leader also warned bitter rival Morgan Tsvangirai he would be arrested if he follows through with a threat to announce the election result should the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission fail to conduct the poll in a transparent manner.
"I was terrified to hear that the Tsvangirai wants to announce the election result even daring the police to arrest him. The electoral commission is tasked under the law to announce and no one else, now if he does that he will be arrested," said Mugabe.
He also accused the MDC-T leader of being a cry baby after he attacked both the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission and the African Union Commission chairperson Nkosana Dlamini Zuma.
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'New Zimbabwe';
The idea was NEVER to "fill" a stadium or open space but to afford people a chance to hear their leader speak while they are seated in or at a comfortable place.
After the Chitungwiza disaster, in which one of our ardent supporters died and many others were injured, it was agree or felt that the over-subscribed rallies should either be held in an open space (where people can move around freely) or in a BIG place that will leave people free to listen to their leader without bothering about being stampeded.
The GIANT National Sports Stadium was, therefore, seen as an ideal place for people to come and be free to move around at will. And, indeed, the planners were right, the GIANT NSS did not fill up to the bream which would have resulted in many dying or being injured.
Thus, the hogwash that people were lying to get out of the stadium is just what it is - crap coming from the obvious sources - wicked westerners who arrogate themselves the role of masters; the role of know-it-all.
So the people know what to do to make sure that Mugabe dies.... GOOD... every one vote MDC and no Zanu seat in Harare and Bob has a heart attack... A bit too far for Bob to get to the far east for Medical treatment...
Oh Taky Garden-Boy... Hope you have your ticket booked out of the country.... Remember I will use my AK47 on you and will blast you to hell and beyond. TICK TICK TICK TICK TICK... the sand man cometh...
Isis aka George Warren aka Roy Bennett;
By merely advocating violence, you have given yourself away. All this time I did not recognise that Isis was you George but now you HAVE exposed yourself.
When at that time I challenged you to a fist fight in Harare, you refused to come saying that you feared I would bring my fellow war veterans to the ring. On two occasions I went to the place of your choice but you did not TURN UP.
Now you are at it again!! You are threatening to drive me out of my own country so that you, an invader, can remain to take over my heritage.
I, Takunya Wa Ndebvu, hereby declare to you, and the world, that I AM A TRUE BLACK ZIMBABWEAN WITH more than 500 GENERATIONS (that I know) to his lineage. All my ancestors, of all those generations that stretch as far back as 5000 years ago, died and were buried in this country.
I SHALL NEVER be an exception and so you can rest be assured that I will die and SHALL BE BURIED in my country of birth and heritage -Zimbabwe. ZIMBABWE is my ONLY country - I do not have any other country to run to. I am not like you who can go to many countries or even to the sea - I will remain a ZIMBABWEAN and in ZIMBABWE.
Therefore, you can bring your AK47 and we meet as usual. Do not let me down this time round. If you really want to drink my BLOOD, then be courageous enough to confront me and we see who will go six feet down under.
Thank you!! Allow me to go and vote as the polling stations have just opened and you can rest be assured that come end of today, my candidate - President R.G. MUGABE - WILL STILL BE IN STATE HOUSE.