Any lingering skepticism as to the reality of the so-called  Simba Makoni juggernaut were deflated when, out of curiosity and desire to have a first-hand account of the political landscape, I undertook the 70 kilometre trip  from Kwekwe to Gweru on Saturday 8 March 2007 to witness Simba Makoni's rally at Mkoba stadium.  Firstly, I was disappointed to miss the Kwekwe rally which had ominous signs of poor organization in that  a local weekly had reported doubts over the rally taking place because of the choice of  venue besides controversy over how independent candidate and maverick local businessman, Mr. Peter Gore, seemingly squeezed  himself onto the Mavambo / Kusile / Dawn platform. Having arrived at the Mbizo venue for the rally at about 12:40 p.m., I was informed that the rally had already finished whereupon I quickly decided to drive to Gweru. The contrast with the Kwekwe rally was immediately apparent as we drove into Gweru because they were rally posters everywhere.

When Simba Makoni's convoy headed for Mkoba  via the city centre, there was pandemonium at the weekend flea market  in the city centre as a huge crowd rushed to catch a glimpse of Simba Makoni in the vehicle that was carrying him. This signaled just the beginning of amazing things to come. At the stadium, a crowd of between 5,000 to 7,000 was already waiting and this swelled to about 8,000 by the time Simba Makoni was invited to address the crowd. How amazing -there were no buses, lorries or combis that had ferried people to the stadium

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today, 06 March 2008 was yet another steamroller day on the Makoni juggernaut. The day started off with the campaign leaving Harare for the rural areas of the Midlands province.

First stop were villages around Sanyati. Here, Dr Makoni was met by crowds of enthusiastic villagers who had been waiting to see him since 11:00 a.m. Word had gone ahead that the next president of Zimbabwe was on his way. Chiefs were in attendance, as were headmen and other workers in the region. The attached photos tell the story clearly enough.

Again, Dr Makoni's message was that he was here to present himself to the people of Zimbabwe, to whom he had offered himself as candidate for the presidency. The people received him in the spirit that he had offered himself and it was clear that, even here, his name was already known and his support solid. He also stopped to chat to doctors and nurses as he did yesterday, 05 March in Centenary. It is amazing that their message is the same: "We can't wait for you to get into power. Things will get better with you in charge. We know you can do better."

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Even the SABC ended up asking Dr Makoni today just how he could keep up such a grueling day! Zimbabwe's next president confirmed his popularity in both and rural areas today as he toured Chegutu and Kadoma and surrounding areas, including some peri-urban areas and resettlement schemes. He spoke to villagers, miners, new farmers, marketwomen and traders in a day that lasted until he swept back into Harare at 20:00hrs this evening (4 march 2008)

First stop was Chegutu, where Dr Makoni attracted crowds wherever he stopped. Unfortunately, as he is intent on sticking to the law of the land (which law he will repeal when he gets elected, because it is not democratic), he had to tell the crowds to disperse so that he could walk around and talk to them in smaller groups. Large gatherings, as we all know are not welcomed by the police unless notification has been given 4 days prior.