News / Africa
Xhosa Gukurahundi Genocide Theatre activists offered money to stop Gukurahundi Play
12 May 2016 at 06:35hrs | Views
Siphesakhe Youth Organisation would like to thank the outstanding support we got from the people of Matabeleland and beyond since we started Uloyiko theatre play that seeks to spread awareness about the Gukurahundi Genocide.
Majority of people have sent us prayerful emails, messages and calls after the publication of our first statement and engaging a number of people in different forums especially from Matebeleland. They have encouraged us to carry on with our project. We were and remain so touched by messages of the survivors and we therefore feel the pressure on our shoulders of taking up the project with great vibe to its greatest heights of publicity continentally and internationally.
A handful of Shona speaking people contacted our team and tried to convince us that there was nothing like Gukurahundi Genocide that happened against the Matebele. They went on to justify themselves by claiming that the government of Zimbabwe was dealing with dissidents who were a threat to the government at the time.
As young South Africans we do respect their version of the genocide despite the fact that we strongly dismiss the claims because of the number of survivors who have contacted us and informed us of what was really going on at the time.
We are aware that Gukurahundi Genocide has been declared as Genocide in September 2010 by Genocide Watch, an organization that exists to "predict, prevent, stop and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder and to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide".
We therefore have every rationale and justification to condemn Gukurahundi genocide as a diabolic event that happened to our cousins across the border.
We have also heard the version that say Matabeles once committed genocide under King Mzilikazi and according to our research there was no Shona tribe in Matebeleland but the Kalanga , Venda and the San people. Moreso we are reliably informed by the survivors that 60% of people claiming to be Shona today are from Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.
In our preparations to launch the play we have been offered few offers to help launch any play as long as it is not about Gukurahundi and we have turned the offers down. We refuse to be bought with money in order that we do not showcase this tragedy of gigantic proportions in Africa.
That being said, Uloyiko theatre play is set as a social enterprise. We sell T. shirts to run the project and are ajar to any help from people who support the project without any conditions of changing the content of our play or offering that we withdraw the play.
We are not a political entity but theatre activists and social commentators of events. We do not want to affiliate to any political party as other Zimbabwean parties have tried to woo us to affiliate to them on the claim they are a majority opposition party in that country. We are just theatre activists who want to spread awareness of an evil chapter that was conducted by the current Zimbabwean government without any fear or favour.
Our aim is to let the whole world know about this especially South Africans. We are prepared to move around the country and beyond to tell this gruesome story through theatre.
What happens after the awareness is upon the people's choice whether to seek justice further or to just watch oppression overflowing. We will at least have played our moral role to do something about this sad chapter.
Our T. Shirts are written "Free Matabeleland" because we believe that the people of Matebeleland are still oppressed via a Gukurahundi system that is still in place today and other forms of oppression because two decades since the genocide occurred, the survivors have not been given a chance to mourn their loved ones.
It is on record that Ibhetshu likaZulu, a Matebele human rights group that seeks to undertake public Gukurahundi Memorials, has time and again been banned from conducting the Memorials of the Gukurahundi Genocide in Zimbabwe. Secondly no perpetrator of this Genocide has openly and publicly apologised or taken responsibility for it, thus we still believe that Matabeleland people are oppressed.
Any folks out there who wish to support Uloyiko theatre play, we urge them to buy our T-shirts at 200 Rands only.
We say, " Gukurahundi Must Fall!" "Free Matebeleland!"
Please contact us on contacts provided bellow. All those interested to join our whatsap group please indicate when contacting us.
Contact: uloyikotheatreplay@gmail.com or call one of our team on
0027717548206/ 0027627649602/0027849603154
Majority of people have sent us prayerful emails, messages and calls after the publication of our first statement and engaging a number of people in different forums especially from Matebeleland. They have encouraged us to carry on with our project. We were and remain so touched by messages of the survivors and we therefore feel the pressure on our shoulders of taking up the project with great vibe to its greatest heights of publicity continentally and internationally.
A handful of Shona speaking people contacted our team and tried to convince us that there was nothing like Gukurahundi Genocide that happened against the Matebele. They went on to justify themselves by claiming that the government of Zimbabwe was dealing with dissidents who were a threat to the government at the time.
As young South Africans we do respect their version of the genocide despite the fact that we strongly dismiss the claims because of the number of survivors who have contacted us and informed us of what was really going on at the time.
We are aware that Gukurahundi Genocide has been declared as Genocide in September 2010 by Genocide Watch, an organization that exists to "predict, prevent, stop and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder and to build an international movement to prevent and stop genocide".
We therefore have every rationale and justification to condemn Gukurahundi genocide as a diabolic event that happened to our cousins across the border.
We have also heard the version that say Matabeles once committed genocide under King Mzilikazi and according to our research there was no Shona tribe in Matebeleland but the Kalanga , Venda and the San people. Moreso we are reliably informed by the survivors that 60% of people claiming to be Shona today are from Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique and Tanzania.
In our preparations to launch the play we have been offered few offers to help launch any play as long as it is not about Gukurahundi and we have turned the offers down. We refuse to be bought with money in order that we do not showcase this tragedy of gigantic proportions in Africa.
That being said, Uloyiko theatre play is set as a social enterprise. We sell T. shirts to run the project and are ajar to any help from people who support the project without any conditions of changing the content of our play or offering that we withdraw the play.
Our aim is to let the whole world know about this especially South Africans. We are prepared to move around the country and beyond to tell this gruesome story through theatre.
What happens after the awareness is upon the people's choice whether to seek justice further or to just watch oppression overflowing. We will at least have played our moral role to do something about this sad chapter.
Our T. Shirts are written "Free Matabeleland" because we believe that the people of Matebeleland are still oppressed via a Gukurahundi system that is still in place today and other forms of oppression because two decades since the genocide occurred, the survivors have not been given a chance to mourn their loved ones.
It is on record that Ibhetshu likaZulu, a Matebele human rights group that seeks to undertake public Gukurahundi Memorials, has time and again been banned from conducting the Memorials of the Gukurahundi Genocide in Zimbabwe. Secondly no perpetrator of this Genocide has openly and publicly apologised or taken responsibility for it, thus we still believe that Matabeleland people are oppressed.
Any folks out there who wish to support Uloyiko theatre play, we urge them to buy our T-shirts at 200 Rands only.
We say, " Gukurahundi Must Fall!" "Free Matebeleland!"
Please contact us on contacts provided bellow. All those interested to join our whatsap group please indicate when contacting us.
Contact: uloyikotheatreplay@gmail.com or call one of our team on
0027717548206/ 0027627649602/0027849603154
Source - Loyiko Theatre
