News / Local
Magwegwe MP receives death threats after his Gukurahundi remarks
21 Apr 2012 at 05:06hrs | Views
The SW Radio Africa on Friday reported that the MDC-T MP for Magwegwe, Felix Sibanda Mafa claims to have received death threats following his remarks on the Gukurahundi massacres.
The MP has in recent days indicated that he will next month introduce a private members' Bill, to force Parliament to enact legislation to provide for compensation of victims of the 1980's massacres.
Mafa is advocating for a trust fund to be set up that will help compensate victims of what he described as the "darkest episode of our history." He said he was hopeful he would be supported by parliamentarians from ZANU PF and the two MDC formations.
The massacres were carried out by the North Korean trained 5th brigade. Wearing red berets to distinguish it from the regular army, the brigade, drawn from 3500 ex-ZANLA troops, butchered over 20 000 people living in the southern parts of Zimbabwe.
Before then, Mugabe had christened the new brigade, 'Gukurahundi' which, loosely translated, means "the rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains." It was only last year that the atrocities were finally labeled a genocide, after an international campaign.
Any remarks on the Gukurahundi therefore always stir anger among Mugabe's supporters. Last year, powerful Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, declared that the Matabeleland killings were "a closed chapter."
So as soon Mafa's remarks were published in a daily newspaper two days ago, he started getting death threats from people he said were 'trained' implying they were state agents.
"After my Gukurahundi sentiments were published in a newspaper, I've seen trained people who pass by my gate, using abusive language and showing gestures that they are going to cut my head. The same people move around my constituency in two unmarked cars," Mafa told SW Radio Africa.
He continued: "Zimbabwe is a strange country that allows people to drive cars without number plates.
However, the outspoken MP remained defiant, vowing that nothing will stop him from delivering justice to the victims of the massacres.
"Naturally, I'm not deterred and neither am I intimidated. My cause is justified because a lot of people died unnecessarily and some of the victims are still living, crippled and disabled as a result of the killings," the MP added.
The MP has in recent days indicated that he will next month introduce a private members' Bill, to force Parliament to enact legislation to provide for compensation of victims of the 1980's massacres.
Mafa is advocating for a trust fund to be set up that will help compensate victims of what he described as the "darkest episode of our history." He said he was hopeful he would be supported by parliamentarians from ZANU PF and the two MDC formations.
The massacres were carried out by the North Korean trained 5th brigade. Wearing red berets to distinguish it from the regular army, the brigade, drawn from 3500 ex-ZANLA troops, butchered over 20 000 people living in the southern parts of Zimbabwe.
Before then, Mugabe had christened the new brigade, 'Gukurahundi' which, loosely translated, means "the rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains." It was only last year that the atrocities were finally labeled a genocide, after an international campaign.
Any remarks on the Gukurahundi therefore always stir anger among Mugabe's supporters. Last year, powerful Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa, declared that the Matabeleland killings were "a closed chapter."
So as soon Mafa's remarks were published in a daily newspaper two days ago, he started getting death threats from people he said were 'trained' implying they were state agents.
"After my Gukurahundi sentiments were published in a newspaper, I've seen trained people who pass by my gate, using abusive language and showing gestures that they are going to cut my head. The same people move around my constituency in two unmarked cars," Mafa told SW Radio Africa.
He continued: "Zimbabwe is a strange country that allows people to drive cars without number plates.
However, the outspoken MP remained defiant, vowing that nothing will stop him from delivering justice to the victims of the massacres.
"Naturally, I'm not deterred and neither am I intimidated. My cause is justified because a lot of people died unnecessarily and some of the victims are still living, crippled and disabled as a result of the killings," the MP added.
Source - SW Radio
