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New Age Voices - Issue 8
Youth Agenda Trust
November 08, 2010

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Zanu PF in desperate bid to woo young voters

Zanu PF leader and Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe had intensified his efforts to win national elections that he has penciled in for next year by targeting the youths to add an extra impetus to his campaign.

Realizing that the bigger chunk of his supporters is now very old, Mugabe has identified the youth niche as a safe passage for him to gain total control of the country which he had to share with his main rival Morgan Tsvangirai after the latter defeated him in the March 2008 harmonised elections.

Before, Mugabe's party Zanu PF would use youths to rape, maim and kill civilians in various campaign trails that have now become a hall mark of the party's election strategies.

The youths would be rewarded with crates of opaque beer cigarettes while they would also take the opportunity to feast and make merry with looted livestock and grain that they confiscate from mainly villagers in the rural areas.

Sensing that the terror and intimidation tactic might fail to yield the desired results for him this time around, Mugabe has sought to blend the terror campaign with cautious "friendly" engagement that would see the party targeting youthful celebrities such as urban groove artists, actors and so on.

The campaign has started with Mugabe's US$300 00 golden handshake to Munyaradzi Chidzonga, losing Big Brother Africa All Stars housemate as reward for failing to win the top prize of US$200 000.

The Chidzonga windfall cam as a direct reaction to another youth, X- Factor star Gamuchirai Nhengu who told emigration officials in the United Kingdom that she cannot go back to Zimbabwe because a firing squad will be waiting for her much to anger of Zanu PF.

Sources in Zanu PF confirmed to The New Age Voices that Mugabe is desperately trying to clean up his public in the face of youths so that they identify with his ideology in time for next year's general election.

In the past, Zanu PF has used urban grooves artist to spruce up its public image through composing songs that exalt Mugabe during election time. Some of the Zanu PF officials that work with these urban groves artist include former information and publicity minister, Jonathan Moyo and Media Minister Webster Shamu.

Moyo at one time went the extra mile and formed his own band that was known as Pax Afro which was mainly composed of youthful artist and fronted by Yulith Ndlovu with the help of fallen music great Isaac Chirwa.

Among some Zanu PF's youthful musical recruits was also Tambaoga real name Last Chiyangwa who was used to denigrate the then British Premier Tony Blair with his offending lyrics.

The Zimbabwean airwaves especially the youthful Power FM, formerly Radio 3 are saturated with songs that are being sung by urban grooves artists most of whom have failed to make it in the challenging Zimbabwean music industry.

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