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.

His convoy then went to the Eiffel Flats/Empress Nickel mine compound area where he met various crowds. From there, he stopped at other small shopping complexes before heading to Rimuka, where he had to jump onto the back of one of trucks in his convoy in order to give people his message because the crowd just got too big. At a bus rank on the Harare Highway, just as one heads out of the town centre towards Bulawayo, the crowd was so big that he even found it difficult to get out of his car. The people simply surged forward. In the end, the truck had to park along side his car so that he could get out and hop straight onto the flatbed in order to address the people.

From there, Dr Makoni then went into the Town centre at the main bus rank where the largest crowd soon gathered. Some people were leaning out of windows in surrounding offices to get a view of him. He spoke briefly and his message was the same as at every stop " I have not come to hold a rally, but to introduce myself. I am Simba Makoni. There are rumours going around and I want to dispel those. Some say I was planted to split other parties' votes. That is a lie. I speak for myself. I am standing for president in my own right. Nobody has sent me. It is also nonsense that I want to return farms to white people. No. I want to take away farms from greedy politicians who have taken more than one farm each and are failing to use that land to feed the nation and earn the country some money." The crowd broke into a chant: "Simba! Simba! Simba!" And some were shouting back "Taneta nezviripo, hatichada!" One man interjected: "Tivhurireiwo mafactory, tatambura!" And another shouted: "We want economists like you. You, Simba, will turn this country around, we are with you."

As Dr Makoni, pointed out to the SABC crew that was with us, everywhere he went, people "never referred to me as Dr Makoni or Mr. Makoni or Simba Makoni, I was simply Simba. That is the level at which I connect with the people." He is quite proud of the fact that the country is comfortably on first name basis with him everywhere he goes. He prefers it that way, because it shows the people consider him one of their own. They are not afraid of him and it shows the fondness with which this man in regarded.

Dr Makoni also gave the following message at every stop:

"When you go to vote, choose Simba Makoni, choose Mavambo and its candidates. If there is no MP candidate standing under the Mavambo banner, choose the one you think will work best to improve your life, but for president, choose Simba Makoni, because I want to bring you leadership that does not rule by instilling fear in the hearts of citizens, I want us to bring about leadership that does not steal from people, leadership that works for the people and not one that makes people work for it."

Dr Makoni then headed to Chakari, where some more crowds massed at each stop. One poignant moment was when Dr Makoni stopped deep in the resettlement areas around Chakari when he saw a boy of 17 and a girl of 16 who were carrying yokes. He got out of his car, introduced himself, asked them what they wanted to be when they grew up and the girl said she would like to be a nurse and the boy wanted to be a doctor or a pilot. He asked about the yokes and whether the rains had been good. The conversation lasted almost ten minutes and those who watch SABC will probably see the footage on the news there. Before leaving, he gave the two T-shirts and pamphlets and asked them to go spread the word back home.

I am proud to be working for this man. This incident showed that he is genuinely concerned and was not simply out to get votes: even after establishing that they were a year or so too young to vote, he still engaged them earnestly, relating their circumstances to his own childhood when he grew up in the rural areas of manicaland being looked after by his grandmother.

Taking back roads that cut through the peri-urban and resettlement areas, Dr Makoni headed back towards Harare, stopped briefly just outside Chegutu to buy some mangoes by the side of the road and also gave a short interview to the SABC crew at that spot. After that, we headed back to Harare.

05 March is another day and another tour. I will update you all at the end of tomorrow. Keep the faith.

The Makoni juggernaut is unstoppable.