HARARE - More than a year after the formation of Zimbabwe's inclusive government amid post-election trauma, not one person has been punished for the violence that killed 253 people, uprooted more than 200 000, and crippled the economy, Parliament has been told.
MDC chief whip, Innocent Gonese, told Parliament, after moving a landmark motion on the 2008 elections, that 2,401 homes, mainly of MDC supporters, were destroyed countrywide between January 2008 and December 2008 by marauding militia. He said that during the same period, at least 253 people – 36 women and 217 men -were killed during the election-related violence in 2008 countrywide, and there were many more unrecorded deaths.
Gonese has asked Parliament to establish a Select Committee of the House to investigate the violence that took place after the March 29, 2008 elections and report its findings to Parliament. But Zanu (PF) legislators have rejected the MDC chief whip’s first attempt because they fear a whitewash unless there are guarantees of immunity first. Zanu (PF) legislators staged a walked-out after the motion was tabled.
Gonese said the post-election political violence that followed President Mugabe and Zanu (PF)’s devastating electoral loss on March 29, 2008 provoked an operation of death and destruction, including the massacre of massive quantities of livestock: 4211 recorded killings of fowl, 36 sheep seized and killed by militia, 128 pigs, 1809 herds of cattle, 21 rabbits and 2418 goats were reportedly seized and killed and feasted on by militia.
Known perpetrators
Gonese said the operation was spearheaded by known perpetrators, including 65 per cent Zanu (PF) militia, 28 per cent war veterans, 4 per cent members of the Zimbabwe National Army, 1 per cent Central Intelligence Organisation operatives and another 1 per cent Zimbabwe Republic Police operatives, he told Parliament amid remonstrations from Zanu (PF).
Gonese has asked Parliament to approve the establishment of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission to probe human rights abuses that took place during the bloody and internationally-condemned 2008 election. A similar body in South Africa helped shed light on apartheid-era crimes and ease tensions. “I have got suggestions and I think one of the most important things we should have here is the setting up of a Truth and Justice Commission whereby those who are prepared to go and confess their acts can be forgiven,” Gonese said.
“It is easier for a person who is a victim to forgive a person who has shown remorse. But it is for people to come forward and confess what they did and that Commission can then make a decision.”
Many want those found guilty of the slow-moving genocide and other human rights violations associated with the 2008 elections not to be eligible for amnesty. The move comes amidst debate on how to deal with those implicated in the violence that broke out after the historic elections in 2008. The issue is dominating Zimbabwean politics, weighing on local markets, and being closely watched by the outside world.
President Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai – who came together in a coalition to end the bloodshed in February last year – have been trying to push justice initiatives through the troika of National Healing ministers, but the aged ministers have been accused of being lackadaisical in their approach and have also been hamstrung by a funding shortfall.
Special tribunal
Under pressure from home, especially its youth constituency which bore the brunt of the brutal election violence at the hands of militia, the MDC is tabling proposals for a special tribunal into post-election violence.
Just last Friday thousands of MDC youths brought business to a halt in central Harare as they marched in protest at impunity and failure to bring to book perpetrators of political violence. They presented a damning petition to the Attorney General, accused of partisan support for President Mugabe, to expedite the prosecution of Zanu (PF) supporters who committed dastardly acts in the 2008 elections.
Gonese told Parliament: “I want to table this roll of honour of members of the MDC who have died and I will just outline those worst cases. We had Bakare Besther who was beaten to death by Zanu (PF) youths at Stodart farm in Shamva on the 16th of May 2008. We have Bakacheza Joshua who was abducted by State agents and was short dead on the 25th of June 2008 in Harare.
“We have Bachitiani Moses who was assaulted by soldiers and Zanu (PF) youths and he died at Mutoko Hospital in April 2008. Bote Solomon was also beaten to death by Zanu (PF) youth militia. I can go on and on, but as a whole Mr. Speaker, we have more than 253 people who lost their lives. Muronde Themba was assaulted by a gang at Mudzi in 2008, he was poisoned and he eventually died.”
Authoritative sources have said the MDC was also planning to modify the Constitution through the ongoing public hearings then create a court to try perpetrators of violence. Some are calling for the court to be set up by special decree, bypassing the legislature, where Zanu (PF) has fiercely resisted any attempt at justice for perpetrators. The Zimbabwean heard that the MDC had put together information on violence with a list of names of suspected chief perpetrators of the violence, and the dossier has been gathering dust at the AG’s office. The dossier, seen by The Zimbabwean, includes sitting ministers and legislators.
Forgotten victims
Often forgotten in the political debate are the victims: the families of the bereaved, those still carrying wounds, and the political refugees still sleeping rough in neighbouring countries. There is deep resentment among Zimbabwe’s 12 million people at a crisis perceived to have been caused by political leaders – whipping up supporters along political lines – and the lack of accountability afterwards.
Since the election crisis exposed Zimbabwe’s instability, local markets have also become susceptible to the political mood. Since the formation of the troubled coalition, Mugabe and Tsvangirai’s respective factions have been endlessly squabbling over petty matters like protocol, and also important matters of national policy, including outstanding issues from the global political agreement that gave birth to the inclusive government.
So the 2008 violence motion in Parliament has put a further strain on the bickering parties in the ruling coalition. Many fear more violence at the next election, scheduled for 2011, if those behind the 2008 election trouble get away free. Gonese told the House: “As Zimbabweans I think we should be ashamed of what transpired. The country was in a state of war. We have a situation where people had to leave their homes and stay in the mountains. We had a situation where people had to leave their homes and come to the urban areas. We had a situation where Harvest House (the MDC headquarters in central Harare) resembled a refugee camp and where our office in Mutare also resembled a refugee camp. Madam Speaker, I think we do not want such events to happen ever again in our country.”
Many are angry at Mugabe for failing to rein in his security forces during the crisis. Zimbabweans are sceptical of their own authorities’ ability to bring the guilty to justice. A procession of past inquiries into multi-million-dollar corruption scandals, land-grab audit, and other incidents of the 80s Gukurahundi violence, have all led to little other than huge bills for the taxpayer.
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