adminTendai Mugabe : Senior Reporter
Zimbabwe People First leader Dr Joice Mujuru is travelling to London, the United Kingdom, next week reportedly to meet possible donors who may fund her fledgling political outfit ahead of the 2018 harmonised elections. The law prohibits foreign funding of political parties.= Officially, Dr Mujuru is scheduled to address a British thinktank the Chatham House on October 6, 2016 after which she would attend a series of private meetings with various
stakeholders.
ZimPF spokesperson Mr Jealousy Mawarire yesterday confirmed the visit, but denied that her boss would use the trip to fundraise for the opposition party.
He said after the Chatham House address Dr Mujuru would have time to meet Zimbabweans based in the UK.
“I don’t know if she is going next week, but I know that she is presenting something on the 6th of October,” he said.
“She is going to meet Zimbabweans in London like we did in South Africa. We will always have time with our Zimbabweans in London.”
Mr Mawarire claimed that their party had several branches in the UK and their membership had taken advantage of the visit to meet their leader.
Asked on the issue of fundraising, Mr Mawarire said: “Let’s talk about things which are real and stop imagining. This idea of thinking that everyone who goes out of the country is going out for fundraising is utterly stupid and misplaced.”
Sources close to Dr Mujuru’s itinerary insisted that fundraising was part of the visit.
The source said that could not be announced officially as it was ultra vires to the laws of the country, which stipulated that political parties should not be foreign funded.
“How can you expect that to be part of the official programme when it is clear that it’s against the laws of the country?”
“The truth of the matter is that she wants to mobilise resources both for the congress and her campaign ahead of the general elections. If she manages to make a breakthrough, she is going to intensify her rallies across the country after the first round where she toured the country’s provinces.”
The source said Dr Mujuru was also going to assure the donors and the UK administrative system that prospects of a coalition with MDC-T ahead of 2018 were on course and would soon be officially confirmed.
The source added: “MDC-T members in the UK are going to be part of her meetings. This is aimed at boosting confidence in the UK system because it is widely believed in the Western circles that a coalition between the two politicians will pose a formidable challenge against Zanu-PF in 2018”.
Information obtained on the Chatham House website showed that Dr Mujuru would present a paper on “Zimbabwe’s changing opposition”.
The Chatham House meeting is going to be chaired by Sir Malcom Rifkind.
A statement accompanying the announcement of Dr Mujuru’s visit posted on the Chatham House website reads: “Zimbabwe’s political opposition is in transition, with new parties and coalitions formed. This is taking place as the economy worsens and this has led to increased public protest in parts of Zimbabwe.
“At this meeting, Dr Joice Mujuru, president of Zimbabwe People First, will discuss how opposition politics is changing in Zimbabwe as her party prepares to compete in its first election in 2018.”
Online Reporter