News / Local
Gukurahundi 'dissidents' helped me, Joice Mujuru reveals
14 Mar 2017 at 03:37hrs | Views
Opposition National People's Party (NPP) leader Joice Mujuru has revealed that she got assistance from 'dissidents' in Matabeleland during the height of bloody Gukurahundi atrocities when she was a cabinet minister.
She said she was 'aware' of the killings.
Mujuru, in several interviews previously, has claimed Mugabe had clandestinely had a crack 'Zezuru-only' brigade trained by North Koreans behind the back of members of his Cabinet.
The campaign by the elite unit reportedly left over 20 000 civilians dead under the guise of hunting down a handful of armed dissidents. However, Mujuru made am embarrassing volte-face during an interview on the BBC's HARDTalk programme with anchor Stephen Sucker.
"Let's look at the record, you were a minister during the massacres of thousands of people, Gukurahundi, Matabeleland people killed, you knew it, you knew it, but you did not say a word against it," Sucker queried.
Mujuru responded saying "I did not say a word against it, but those were executive orders that were used by the Fifth Brigade. With an executive person, what else would you do?".
While in the UK last week, Mujuru during a meeting with women in the Diaspora said Mugabe had ordered former army colonel Beta Guveya to "recruit a Zezurus-only brigade from Zvimba", the President's rural home.
Mujuru also told her audience in London that when she visited Matabeleland during the disturbances, she had a vehicle breakdown and only got to know lately that she had been assisted by 'dissidents'.
She said she was 'aware' of the killings.
Mujuru, in several interviews previously, has claimed Mugabe had clandestinely had a crack 'Zezuru-only' brigade trained by North Koreans behind the back of members of his Cabinet.
The campaign by the elite unit reportedly left over 20 000 civilians dead under the guise of hunting down a handful of armed dissidents. However, Mujuru made am embarrassing volte-face during an interview on the BBC's HARDTalk programme with anchor Stephen Sucker.
"Let's look at the record, you were a minister during the massacres of thousands of people, Gukurahundi, Matabeleland people killed, you knew it, you knew it, but you did not say a word against it," Sucker queried.
Mujuru responded saying "I did not say a word against it, but those were executive orders that were used by the Fifth Brigade. With an executive person, what else would you do?".
While in the UK last week, Mujuru during a meeting with women in the Diaspora said Mugabe had ordered former army colonel Beta Guveya to "recruit a Zezurus-only brigade from Zvimba", the President's rural home.
Mujuru also told her audience in London that when she visited Matabeleland during the disturbances, she had a vehicle breakdown and only got to know lately that she had been assisted by 'dissidents'.
Source - online
