A great fraud is being perpetrated upon victims of political violence and the Zimbabwean nation at large. What else are we to make of the governments indecent haste to declare three days of national healing and reconciliation the last of which is today while doing absolutely nothing to address the real issues on the ground?We have not forgotten the lessons of the 1987 Unity Accord. Then, the ultimate goal was to confer immunity from prosecution upon those who, in the name of politics, ordered the massacre of innocent civilians in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces during the so-called Gukurahundi campaign by the armys 5th Brigade.
It is the same motive driving the governments stage-managed national reconciliation process. It is a cynical manipulation of the political process in order to ultimately grant amnesty to murderers, rapists and looters in the name of national unity and reconciliation. It is such a shame!
Declaring the official days of national reconciliation, President Robert Mugabe said July 24, 25, and 26 were days for Zimbabweans to dedicate themselves to national unity and to: renounce violence, work together to ensure security of all persons and property, refrain from inciting hostility, political intolerance and ethnic hatred.
No Mr President, you could never heal the nation by mere words and these cheap publicity stunts. True healing and reconciliation never come alone. They always come together with truth and justice.
We are not advocates for primitive retribution. But we could never stand and watch while a group of selfish politicians tries to pull the wool over the eyes of orphans and widows who demand and rightly so nothing but the whole truth about who killed their loved ones and why.
There has to be full disclosure by those who perpetrated dreadful crimes upon fellow citizens before we can start talking about reconciliation. Only truth and justice can cleanse and heal our hurting nation.
Put differently there can never be national healing or reconciliation when the criminals who plotted Gukurahundi and masterminded the political violence that accompanied every major election in the country since 1980 retain their positions in the security forces and continue roaming our villages and cities.
We could have as many more days of national healing and reconciliation as we like but we would never know peace and harmony until there is genuine reform of the security sector and the generals are once more brought under the control of an elected government.
In short, there can be no peace when the institutions and structures of violence remain in place biding time until the next election.
Post published in: Editor: Wilf Mbanga