1893 MHRRM praises Zenzele Ndebele, calls for a UN Commission of Enquiry

The 1893 MHRRM takes this opportunity to congratulate and give special thanks to one of Matebeleland's finest Human Rights Activists, Zenzele Ndebele, for his informative and forthright documentary on the Matebele "Gukurahundi" Genocide. The documentary certainly adds a layer of exposure of the evil activities of perpetrators of this state genocide who are strutting the world stage as Reformists and Democrats while evidence consistently points to the contrary. Surely the Matebele genocide crime continues to spectacularly boomerang on them.

We also take the opportunity to give thanks to all the Matebeleland people who participated in the interviews conducted by Zenzele Ndebele. We thank them for their indefatigable human spirit and for sharing with the outside world their horrific experiences of the Genocide at the hands of the North Korean trained 5th Brigade of Zimbabwe commanded by Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his henchman including the current President of Zimbabwe, Emmerson Mnangagwa, his Deputy Chiwenga and his command agriculture minister Perence Shiri. We also give thanks to Bulawayans who attended the launch of this documentary in Bulawayo yesterday. Long Live Matebeleland!

For the umpteenth time, like other documentaries already produced and cast, Zenzele Ndebele's documentary adds a layer of strong evidence of the Genocide perpetrated by the sectarian state of Zimbabwe and further exposes the key players involved in this state crime.

That the key players who were involved in this state crime have done all they could to silence Zenzele Ndebele and prevent the release of the documentary is not surprising at all. Many have been silenced and paid with their lives. Zimbabwe is not in anyway near respecting and protecting human rights post Mugabe. The old guard with whom Mugabe committed gross human rights violations and Matebele genocide are firmly in charge and holding onto the levers of power continuing where Mugabe left in terms of human rights violations.

Interestingly these are the same people who have established a so called National Peace and Reconciliation Commission for the Commission (NPRC) to deal with and make revelations about the Genocide and other human rights abuses they committed and for such a commission to make recommendations for remedial and corrective interventions thereof. Absolutely scandalous!

The accused have also appointed individuals to the NPRC Committee to carry its "independent" work. Interestingly, like the 5th Brigade of Zimbabwe, this commission is composed of 99% Shona personnel to investigate an ethnic Matebele genocide carried out by an ethnic Shona Brigade. Absolutely scandalous!

This Commission, for want of a better expression, is a non-starter from the word go. It is nothing but a complete whitewash. It should be disbanded at the earliest opportunity. NPRC is a mockery and an insult to the surviving victims of the Genocide and indeed it is a mockery and an insult to the memory of those who perished at the hands of the ethnic Shona Brigade of Zimbabwe. The Matebele will not be hoodwinked.

The 1893 MHRRM calls on Mnangagwa and his government to dis-member and disband this Commission as soon as possible and allow a UN backed and nominated independent Commission to be put in place, a commission that will be independent and be to the satisfaction of many. It is impossible for the state to investigate itself or those in charge of that state to set up a Commission to investigate themselves where state crime of the nature of genocide is a big issue.

Furthermore there are other commissions that have been carried out in the 80s that are yet to be published to this day. President Mnangangwa and his government can do the Matebele people a jolly good and big favour by getting the Chihambakwe Commission Report and other records on this Genocide released as soon as possible if he is honest and genuine about this issue. If Zimbabwe is Open for Business, Zimbabwe must be Open for Truth Telling, Transparency, Justice and Reparations for the people of Matebeleland.

The Conservative Government of Theresa May, that appears to want to hobnob with the Zanu PF government like that of Magret Thatcher, can also do us a good and big favour and nudge Mnangagwa to release the Chihambakwe Report and get serious with the business of setting up of an independent Genocide Commission that has the UN appointship.

Mnangagwa and his government must also release all Zapu/ZIPRA historical archive documents and return Zapu/ZIPRA properties to Zapu/ZIPRA veterans and ANC/ uMkhonto weSizwe properties to ANC/uMkhonto weSizwe veterans as a matter of urgency.

The mantra pushed by the regime that it is currently pursuing democracy and the observance of human rights in Zimbabwe, is time and time again, proven to be a big con. A few days before Zenzele Ndebele launched this documentary; the police and state agents were on his case and remain on his case as we speak, intimidating him and making all manner of threats to him. He was called by CID and asked to hand-over the documentary to them and he rightfully refused. Thanks God he had a lawyer with him and thanks God he twitted this harrassment before going to meet these state agents and human rights violators. It also seems that the banning of Zenzele's work has proven difficult due to the fact that Zimbabwe, under the leadership of Mnangagwa, remains on the international radar at the moment while trying hard to con the international community about "progress" that is being made in Zimbabwe in terms of respecting human rights while evidence is to the contrary.

There remains no progress of any sort in Zimbabwe in terms of observing and respecting human rights. Numerous examples of human rights violations are there for all to see. There are still dark forces out there that still operate to silence human rights activists like Zenzele Ndebele and many others.

A possible state agent by the name of Prominent Tafadzwa Mujuru, who apparently works in South Africa for a haulage truck company, has issued a chilling genocide message to the Matebele stating, "Ndebelez (Matebele) must continue to be killed because they think they are clever than the Shonas yet they are in our country.....its better....to buy Petrol and burn all the remaining Ndebelez". The irony of it can not be lost as he writes in South Africa in a country that is not his. The sense of hatred and entitlement to commit violence and genocide against the Matebele, even outside Zimbabwean borders is frightening.

Some time ago, Artist Owen Maseko was not so lucky with his Genocide exhibition work and he remains not so lucky with its exhibition in Zimbabwe. Maseko's Matebele Genocide exhibition work remains banned in Zimbabwe to this day. We call on President Mnangagwa to unban this Genocide Artistic work and let it be exhibited in Bulawayo and Zimbabwe as a matter of urgency if he is genuine and honest about respecting human rights in Zimbabwe. Maseko must be allowed to urgently exhibit his Genocide Artistic work without hindrance from the state.

Ndebele's documentary work re-emphasizes what Matebeleland has and continues to lose as the genocide continues unabated. The first phase included physical elimination of the human resource of Matebeleland. It also included destruction of sources of livelihood including properties and breaking up families and communities and leaving eternal traumatic mental scars of this heinous state crime. It involved the regionalization/tribalization of Zapu and ZIPRA and its destruction too, the liquidation and scattering of its leaders as well as the brazen confiscation and or destruction of its War records and its economic base and properties.

It is also very interesting to note that the confiscation and destruction of Zapu /ZIPRA properties and liquidation of its leaders was also extended to Zapu/ZIPRA's alliance partners, the ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe. ANC and uMkhonto weSizwe lost heavily from Zanu PF.

Zanu PF owes the ANC its properties and heads of cattle in their thousands. From Ndebele's documentary revelation, these were confiscated and taken over by Zanu PF. Effectively Zanu PF was in bed with apartheid South Africa at this stage resulting in the effective neutralization of uMkhonto weSizwe and ANC. This ANC/uMkhonto weSizwe neutralization meant the march for the freedom of South Africans was halted by Zanu PF and its government. What a betrayal? Is it any wonder that the late Nelson Mandela did not see eye to eye with Robert Gabriel Mugabe? This, for the avoidance of doubt, points to the fact that this was no longer a Zapu/Zanu PF issue but drew in international forces to it. By all standards and reading into this, one wonders how it is that the ANC government is a buddy of a Zanu PF government today. They are strange bedfellows indeed.

The second phase of this genocide is one that commences after the so called 1987 Unity Accord. The sustained attack on the Matebele and denial of their Rights has been unrelenting in all areas of life. Cultural and linguistic genocide is on-going. While white farmers were targeted for farm dispossessions during the so called Fast Trek Land Reform, land from Matebeleland was and continues to be targeted for dispossession including mineral wealth in the form of mines and mining areas, taking over Gwayi conservancies and timber from Lupane and other resources found around Matebeleland. In essence the genocide has not stopped. It is on-going in different forms and guises.

The 1893 MHRRM repeatedly calls on the Mnangagwa's government to retreat on its genocidal forays in Matebeleland, so the people of Matebeleland can gain freedom and enjoy their God-given rights like other peoples of the world. As regard the Matebele Genocide, our people need nothing else but Truth, Justice, Reparations and Healing for this genocide.

We once again give many thanks to Zenzele Ndebele and his team for his documentary. We welcome its well-timed launch yesterday.