Minister of State John Nkomo and his Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation have begun work - we are told - to bring national healing and reconciliation to Zimbabwe after so many years of political violence and human rights abuses that have left our nation traumatised and in serious need of rehabilitation.For the avoidance of doubt, we do not subscribe to the ideology of an
eye for an eye. Count us among the first in support of any process
aimed at achieving genuine reconciliation among Zimbabweans rather than
merely delivering punishment to those who may have committed crimes in
the past.
But we have strong reservations about the way the government is
proposing to go about achieving national reconciliation. It is
regrettable that – as was the case with land reform or the draft
constitution of 2000 – a noble cause could once again be defeated
simply because those in charge of the ship of state have elected to go
about it the wrong way.
For starters, politicians and especially Nkomo whose Zanu (PF) party is
accused of committing most of the violence of the last decade, are the
least qualified to preside over the search for reconciliation or
healing among our people.
Nkomo's committee met leaders of various civic groups, churches and the
business sector last week. It plans to hold a so-called stakeholders'
conference after which it shall submit a report to President Robert
Mugabe, Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai and Deputy Prime Minister
Arthur Mutambara. What a complete farce!
When those who stand accused – either in their individual capacity or
as part of a collective group – of committing, ordering or aiding
political violence and human rights abuses take it upon themselves to
oversee national healing and reconciliation it smells of nothing else
but a dirty plot to cover up.
Reconciliation is a baby that is as good or as bad as the midwife who
helped in its delivery – something we would have expected Zanu (PF) and
the two MDC formations to know.
There are many distinguished Zimbabweans not tainted by partisan
politics of the past who could easily replace Nkomo, Sekai Holland and
Gibson Sibanda in an independent Truth, Justice and Reconciliation
Commission empowered to grant amnesty to those who make full disclosure
of their crimes and hand over for prosecution those who refuse to own
up to their transgressions.
The commission should submit a report to Parliament, which should pass
laws to ensure some form of compensation for victims of violence, while
also ensuring the government of the day implements programmes to
rehabilitate individuals and communities that were victims of
politically motivated violence and other crimes.
This, we would have thought, was the most reasonable way to achieve
true reconciliation, healing and restorative justice, not this scheme
fronted by Nkomo and company that has all the markings of a plot to
grant impunity to perpetrators while denying truth and justice to
victims and the nation at large.