Richard Kayangu, of Kamloops, British Columbia is running in Zimbabwe's 2018 presidential election.

Richard Kanyangu running against Robert Mugabe

Richard Kanyangu, of Kamloops, British Columbia is stepping into the 2018 presidential race in Zimbabwe, in an effort to unseat long-time President Robert Mugabe.

Kanyangu, a pastor and psychiatric nurse, left his native Zimbabwe in 1995. He says he has waited too long for change in his former country, and has “no option” but run himself.

“We’ve stood on the sidelines for too long and watched the situation hoping it would change by itself,” he told CBC Radio in Kamloops.

“But after 20 years of doing that, I’ve come to the realization that that is going to take someone like me to get involved in the process if we’re going to see anything good come out of the country.”

Mugabe, has been the only leader of the nation since it was first recognized in 1980, first serving as prime minister, then president.

“We cannot continue to watch and talk about Zimbabwe” Kanyangu says. “We now need to get involved.”

President Robert Mugabe speaks to supporters gathered to celebrate his 93rd birthday on February 25, 2017. He is now the world’s oldest leader. © Reuters/Philimon Bulawayo

Kanyangu says he has stayed in touch with what’s going on in Zimbabwe with trips back every second year.

“At this point as a country, Zimbabwe has come to that place where we don’t have any other options. We are right at the bottom of the bottom,” Kanyangu said.

The only way forward is to present a “third” way and introduce a new party into the fray, he said, which can offer a new vision to Zimbabweans who he says have grown more apathetic under Mugabe’s rule.

“Most of the people who are in the country have normalized the situation because they’ve had to live with it day in and day out,” he said.

“It requires somebody who has a fresh set of eyes, who has a different perspective on what is happening and who believes in the possibility of change to actually come in and challenge the status quo.”

Asked if he’s worried about his safety given Mugabe’s past inclinations, Kanyangu said he has no fear.

“I like to think that fear exists where you have an option … but the reality is what else can we do? We’ve got to be willing to take the risk in order to bring about the change that is so much needed in the country.”

Mugabe will be 94 during the 2018 presidential campaign and is facing questions of whether he is still of sound mind at his advanced age.

“We cannot continue to watch and talk about Zimbabwe” Kanyangu says. “We now need to get involved.”

He says what’s happening is “equivalent almost to a genocide. people are dying needlessly, and the world cannot continue to watch.”

He says when only 2 million people vote in a population of 6 or 7 million potential voters, re-engaging the population, particularly the youth, can lead to victory.

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