Simba Makoni -- who was expelled from ZANU-PF for contesting the presidency -- hit the campaign trail with a foray into a province that has delivered big wins for Mugabe in past polls.

The former finance minister was mobbed as he moved around Nyamapanda, a small rural settlement on the border with Mozambique, 240 km (150 miles) to the east of Harare.

People jostled each other to catch a glimpse of him at a sleepy shopping centre, which briefly sprang to life after the arrival of a convoy of sports utility vehicles accompanying the candidate.

"My name is Simba Makoni, I've come to introduce myself to you and to confirm that I've entered the presidential race," Makoni said, shaking hands of curious villagers.

"We need your support so we can return power to you, the people, and so we can reclaim our country which is being destroyed by a minority."

He frequently removed a baseball cap in the sweltering heat to reveal his face and chat with onlookers.

"Oh, so that's him?" one vegetable vendor quipped as she was handed a campaign leaflet bearing Makoni's face. "I have only heard about him."

Makoni, who faces Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, is standing as an independent candidate in the March 29 poll and has ruled out a formal alliance with the opposition.

He will officially launch his campaign at a rally in Zimbabwe's second largest city Bulawayo on Saturday.

MILLION-DOLLAR BANANA

A woman who identified herself only as Rebecca said she had not heard about Makoni before, but became animated when his officials spoke about the economy.

"This used to be such a busy place and business was good for us, but now things have become so expensive people cannot buy and traffic through the border post has dwindled markedly," she said.

"I never thought we would one day sell a million-dollar banana," she said, a confirmation of skyrocketing prices that have pushed inflation past 100,000 percent, the world's highest.

At another stop, a man who said he was a teacher, sparred with Makoni's campaign staff.

"If he wins, how is he going to govern?" the man asked. "How will he form a government without a party and without candidates running for parliamentary seats?"

Makoni promised to unite Zimbabweans and end a crippling economic crisis that has resulted in shortages of food, fuel and electricity and left four in five people without jobs.

At Mutoko -- a major rural business centre 140 km outside Harare -- scores gathered around his convoy, chanting his name.

"It's great, it's uplifting," Makoni told journalists after his tour. "The mood is good, the people are ready for this campaign."