News / Regional
Police stop re-burial of Gukurahundi massacre victims
04 Aug 2012 at 12:12hrs | Views
Matobo police on Sunday blocked a family from conducting a reburial ceremony of their father and relative who were killed by the Fifth Brigade during the 1980's Gukurahundi massacres.
The blocked programme took place in Silozwe area, ward 16 in Matobo where the Nyathi family and villagers had gathered to re-bury the remains of a Gukurahundi victim, Mvulo Nyathi.
Nyathi was allegedly beaten to death by soldiers in 1984 and his body "stashed" at a cave in a hill behind Silozwe High School. The Nyathi family wanted to take the remains and rebury them at their homestead.
The Daily News was told during a visit to the area that the family, relatives and other villagers slept at Nyathi's homestead on Saturday night conducting traditional rituals in preparation for the reburial the following morning.
However, police stormed the homestead on Sunday morning just before the family went to collect the remains for reburial.
"The burial failed to take off as Matobo police refused to clear it saying they had not been given orders to 'deal with Gukurahundi issues'. Police said we should not go ahead lest we cause tension.
"Police said we should seek the authority of the Provincial Administrator," Emma Nyathi, an aunt of the late Mvulo Nyathi told Daily News.
She added: "I am very traumatised about this. Imagine being refused to rebury your own relative. This is so painful and saddening."
She said they had brewed traditional beer, dug a grave, bought a coffin, bought a cow for slaughter and food to feed everyone who was attending the ceremony but all had gone to waste because of the police action.
"This whole event was meant to appease the spirit of Mvulo. We wanted him to rest in peace," she added.
Bulawayo Agenda director, Thabani Nyoni condemned the police for blocking the reburial ceremony saying it showed government wanted to sweep the Gukurahundi issue under the carpet.
Nyoni said the move by the Nyathi family to rebury their father and relative who was killed by soldiers during the Gukurahundi disturbances "is a clear message that Gukurahundi is not a closed chapter.
"It is evidence of a hurt community who, although traumatised, have defeated fear by letting their voice be heard on Gukurahundi issues. The conduct of the Matobo police, Matobo District Administration Office and conditions set by the PA's office is evidence of the Government's attempts to sweep Gukurahundi under the carpet, which is a direct affront to national healing and reconciliation efforts by Zimbabweans at large."
More than 20 000 innocent people are believed to have been murdered by members of the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade, with the President Robert Mugabe then led government claiming at the time that they wanted to crush a rebellion by supposed dissidents in Matabeleland.
The blocked programme took place in Silozwe area, ward 16 in Matobo where the Nyathi family and villagers had gathered to re-bury the remains of a Gukurahundi victim, Mvulo Nyathi.
Nyathi was allegedly beaten to death by soldiers in 1984 and his body "stashed" at a cave in a hill behind Silozwe High School. The Nyathi family wanted to take the remains and rebury them at their homestead.
The Daily News was told during a visit to the area that the family, relatives and other villagers slept at Nyathi's homestead on Saturday night conducting traditional rituals in preparation for the reburial the following morning.
However, police stormed the homestead on Sunday morning just before the family went to collect the remains for reburial.
"The burial failed to take off as Matobo police refused to clear it saying they had not been given orders to 'deal with Gukurahundi issues'. Police said we should not go ahead lest we cause tension.
"Police said we should seek the authority of the Provincial Administrator," Emma Nyathi, an aunt of the late Mvulo Nyathi told Daily News.
She added: "I am very traumatised about this. Imagine being refused to rebury your own relative. This is so painful and saddening."
She said they had brewed traditional beer, dug a grave, bought a coffin, bought a cow for slaughter and food to feed everyone who was attending the ceremony but all had gone to waste because of the police action.
"This whole event was meant to appease the spirit of Mvulo. We wanted him to rest in peace," she added.
Bulawayo Agenda director, Thabani Nyoni condemned the police for blocking the reburial ceremony saying it showed government wanted to sweep the Gukurahundi issue under the carpet.
Nyoni said the move by the Nyathi family to rebury their father and relative who was killed by soldiers during the Gukurahundi disturbances "is a clear message that Gukurahundi is not a closed chapter.
"It is evidence of a hurt community who, although traumatised, have defeated fear by letting their voice be heard on Gukurahundi issues. The conduct of the Matobo police, Matobo District Administration Office and conditions set by the PA's office is evidence of the Government's attempts to sweep Gukurahundi under the carpet, which is a direct affront to national healing and reconciliation efforts by Zimbabweans at large."
More than 20 000 innocent people are believed to have been murdered by members of the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade, with the President Robert Mugabe then led government claiming at the time that they wanted to crush a rebellion by supposed dissidents in Matabeleland.
Source - dailynews
