It is unfortunate that to date nothing has been done by the Government in terms of publicly acknowledging the heinous crimes and bringing the perpetrators to book. If anything, some of those who participated in this regrettable deed remain in high offices of authority. To date effects of the massacres are still fresh in the survivors’ lives.
This regrettable act which took place during the early 1980s was a suppression of Zimbabwean civilians, mostly supporters of the late Vice President, Joshua Nkomo by members of Zimbabwe’s 5th brigade in the predominantly Ndebele regions and Midlands area. This North Korea trained 5th brigade killed in cold blood more than 20,000 civilians. This massacre ended after the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and the Zimbabwe African Peoples’ Union (ZAPU) reached a unity agreement on 22 December 1987 that merged the two parties to form one party, ZANU PF.
Heal Zimbabwe Trust believes that a national dialogue on the Gukurahundi massacres has to be opened up so as to open a discourse on healing and reconciliation. The salient point is that Gukurahundi has victims who are in dire need of healing, reparations, counselling and trauma healing. The continued eschewing of this regrettable but yet national issue by Government is a real retrogression against the attainment of national healing, peace and reconciliation.
There is also need for national dialogue on the matter where victims will tell the truth. Gukurahundi remains a period of conflict that has been neglected for long and continues to cause public outcry every time it is brought up. Gukurahundi was more than a “moment of madness” as President Mugabe would have us believe. The mass massacres and the scarred victims remain fresh in the minds of many and the echoes of these tragic years still reverberate to this day.
The Organ on National Healing and Reconciliation which has been placed under Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko must ensure that this responsibility of healing a nation that is in the deep end abyss of pain and hurt is given first priority. The Government must also swiftly uphold the Constitution by setting up the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) so that it commences its constitutional mandate of dealing with post and present conflicts, healing and reconciliation.
Heal Zimbabwe Trust implores the Government to swiftly operationalize the NPRC which faces an onerous task of healing past and fresh wounds.
Post published in: Human Rights