News / National
'Zanu-PF, MDC have failed Matebeleland'
26 Oct 2018 at 22:25hrs | Views
Former minister of State in the Organ of National Healing, Reconciliation and Integration, Moses Mzila Ndlovu, who is the guest speaker at the Gukurahundi commemorations scheduled for next month in the United Kingdom (UK) said both Zanu-PF and the MDC have nothing to offer the Matebeleland population.
Ndlovu told the Daily News this week that besides seeking for votes in the region, politicians from the two political parties lack an understanding of the problems bedevilling Matebeleland.
"Besides getting political support from Matebeleland they (Zanu-PF and MDC) really have nothing to offer the people of the region. They are more concerned about keeping political power, not about the plight of the people. That is the reason why we refused to join Zanu-PF in 1987," he said.
"We cannot expect the perpetrators of the Gukurahundi genocide to be able to understand the impact the bloodshed had on the Matebeleland community. The composition of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) is questionable."
Earlier this year President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Bill (NPRC) into law to operationalise the Commission that was appointed in 2016.
Mnangagwa is on record saying the Commission would make recommendations to government on how the Gukurahundi disturbances should be handled.
In 1983, the then government of Robert Mugabe unleashed the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade in Matebeleland, resulting in the deaths of thousands, mainly in the Midlands and Matebeleland regions.
Ndlovu is a former Movement for Democratic Change legislator.
In 2011, Ndlovu together with Reverend Marko Mkandla, were arrested on their way to Victoria Falls in Matebeleland North, having addressed a Matabeleland Gukurahundi Genocide Memorial Service.
Ndlovu told the Daily News that the Gukurahundi commemorations in the UK have been planned for the Zimbabwean community living in that country; adding that similar commemorations have been held in South Africa.
"It is meant for the Zimbabwean community in that country so that they get to hear our side of the story. We have been to South Africa; the UK also has a huge Zimbabwean population. Some of the people were present when this crime was committed," he said.
The forthcoming conference to be held on November 3 will be the first of its kind in the Diaspora and will provide an opportunity to disseminate information about the genocide.
The conference is scheduled to take place in Luton town, located 46km north of London, UK.
Ndlovu told the Daily News this week that besides seeking for votes in the region, politicians from the two political parties lack an understanding of the problems bedevilling Matebeleland.
"Besides getting political support from Matebeleland they (Zanu-PF and MDC) really have nothing to offer the people of the region. They are more concerned about keeping political power, not about the plight of the people. That is the reason why we refused to join Zanu-PF in 1987," he said.
"We cannot expect the perpetrators of the Gukurahundi genocide to be able to understand the impact the bloodshed had on the Matebeleland community. The composition of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) is questionable."
Earlier this year President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Bill (NPRC) into law to operationalise the Commission that was appointed in 2016.
Mnangagwa is on record saying the Commission would make recommendations to government on how the Gukurahundi disturbances should be handled.
In 1983, the then government of Robert Mugabe unleashed the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade in Matebeleland, resulting in the deaths of thousands, mainly in the Midlands and Matebeleland regions.
Ndlovu is a former Movement for Democratic Change legislator.
In 2011, Ndlovu together with Reverend Marko Mkandla, were arrested on their way to Victoria Falls in Matebeleland North, having addressed a Matabeleland Gukurahundi Genocide Memorial Service.
Ndlovu told the Daily News that the Gukurahundi commemorations in the UK have been planned for the Zimbabwean community living in that country; adding that similar commemorations have been held in South Africa.
"It is meant for the Zimbabwean community in that country so that they get to hear our side of the story. We have been to South Africa; the UK also has a huge Zimbabwean population. Some of the people were present when this crime was committed," he said.
The forthcoming conference to be held on November 3 will be the first of its kind in the Diaspora and will provide an opportunity to disseminate information about the genocide.
The conference is scheduled to take place in Luton town, located 46km north of London, UK.
Source - dailynews
