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President Mugabe flanked by Vice President Joice Mujuru and acting Zanu-PF national chairman Cde Didymus Mutasa share a lighter moment during celebrations to mark the party’s victory in last year’s elections at State House yesterday. — Pictures by Tawanda Mudimu

Tendai Mugabe Senior Reporter–
THE ruling Zanu-PF yesterday celebrated its crushing victory against the MDC-T and other fringe parties in harmonised elections that were described as a virtual referendum on Western meddling in Zimbabwe’s internal affairs. Zanu-PF routed the Western-sponsored MDC-T in widely endorsed elections whose outcome was not only welcomed by the Western powers that bankrolled the MDC-T over the past 15 years.

Zanu-PF scored a crushing victory against the MDC-T sweeping 1 493 out of 1 958 wards in the local authority elections, translating to over 76 percent dominance in local government countrywide.

President Mugabe thumped MDC-T leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai with 61,09 percent of the valid votes cast to 33,94 percent with Zanu-PF clinching 160 seats out of the 210 National Assembly constituencies garner a crushing 76 percent dominance.

After factoring in 60 women’s quota seats elected by proportional representation of six for each of the 10 provinces, the final composition of the National Assembly came to 197 seats for Zanu-PF, 70 for MDC-T, two for MDC, and one independent giving Zanu-PF just under 73 percent of the total seats in the National Assembly but well over the two-thirds majority of 180 seats.

It was to commemorate this defining victory that outstripped Zanu-PF’s inaugural landslide in 1980 that President Mugabe hosted a colourful celebration at State House in Harare yesterday.

The event was attended by Zanu-PF Politburo members, Cabinet ministers, Members of Parliament, service chiefs, captains of industry and traditional chiefs.

From the outset, President Mugabe made it clear that it was a day of merry-making as he introduced dendera heir Sulumani Chimbetu, whom he had invited to serenade his guests, as “Batai Munhu” much to the delight of the guests.

“Ngaauye kuno (Sulumani) ndini ndinomubata nhasi (Let him come over, I am the one who will apprehend him today),” President Mugabe said on being told by national political commissar Cde Webster Shamu that Sulumani was the man behind the hit song, ‘Batai Munhu’.

Like the trained military man he is, Sulumani marched to the podium and saluted the President who gently touched him saying: “Ndiri kuti ndiye anonzi Batai Munhu (I am saying this is Batai Munhu).

“Aiwa izuva redu. Izuva rekuti isusu tikorokotedzwe hongu asi vatinosungirwa kukorokotedza vanhu vedu mhuri yeZimbabwe (Yes, this is our day, a day that we should be congratulated but the ones we must congratulate are our people, the Zimbabwean family).”
President Mugabe jokingly called on journalists to put down their cameras and note books to join in the celebrations.

He described Zanu-PF leadership as servant leadership.
“We are leaders from the people, of the people and for the people,” said the President. “Hatife takambofunga kuti because we are leaders we are above the people. We come from the people, we have come from the people because the people have definite interest and definite demands which they wanted addressed.”

President Mugabe drew laughter from the gallery when he said during the inclusive Government some people who were not elected like Professor Welshman Ncube of the MDC pocketed senior Government positions.

Interestingly, the President said, such people wanted to dictate how the Government should run.
He said described the inclusive Government as an experience that should never be repeated.

President Mugabe urged people to raise the bar on the economic front to add value to the country’s resources.
He said beneficiation was at the centre of Zim-Asset adding that it helped to address the challenge of unemployment.
After the President’s address, Sulumani took to the stage and belted his popular song “Batai Munhu”, much to the delight of the guests.