The venue is Rufaro Stadium and the date is tomorrow.
The stage has been set for the opposition, Movement for democratic Change (MDC)’s 20th anniversary celebration with a series of events lined up to mark the opposition party’s resilience under a thorny pathway since its inception.
Updating press this morning, party deputy spokesperson, Luke Tamborinyoka said all logistics were in place for the grand event that will see representatives from all its country and diaspora provinces converge at Rufaro Stadium for the moments event.
“All is set for tomorrow, all the logistical aspects have been done because this is a national event, all our provinces will be attending not just the 10 local provinces but even our international provinces as well, they will be here in their huge numbers to celebrate this mammoth event for the party,” Tamborinyoka said.
MDC president, Nelson Chamisa will address the gathering running under the theme; Celebrating 20 years of Courage, Growth and the People’s Victories.
Initially, the celebrations had been slated for the 14th of September but following the death of the late former president Robert Mugabe, a decision was made by the party to cancel for a later date.
Apparently, there have been indications lately to the fact that Chamisa is expected to preside over the burial of the former president tomorrow casting the celebrations in doubt.
But Tamborinyoka chastised this, “It’s a rumour, it will stay as just that, a rumour, there is no substance to that,”
There will be funfair, with artistes such as Shinso Man, Baba Harare and Tryson Chimbetu with individual and institutional awards expected in honour of those who have stood with the party ideas along its illustrious journey.
Formed on the 11 of September 1999, under the leadership of the late Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDC party manifested itself into a formidable political force, arguably the strongest to face the ruling party, ZANU PF party post-independence.
Following a string of abductions, torture, rape and murder allegations of its members by the state over the years, the party has made tremendous gains on the country’s political arena, forcing then President Robert Mugabe into a power sharing deal with its leader Morgan Tsvangirai in 2008 following its election victory that fell short of the 50-plus one percent vote to win the presidential plebiscite.
Thousands of party supporters are expected to grace the celebrations at Rufaro stadium tomorrow.
“At Rufaro we expecting everyone, thousands and thousands of people we expect to fill stands to the rafters,” said the deputy spokesperson.
Rufaro stadium is symbolic; this is where the country marked its independence in 1980, pulling down the Union Jack which represented the colonial power’s influence to raise the Zimbabwean flag for the first time in the land
