News / Regional
Gukurahundi victim reburied
21 Oct 2014 at 06:45hrs | Views
THE remains of Nehemiah Nkala, a Gukurahundi victim, were reburied in an anthill in Lupanda in Lupane area on Saturday afternoon, 31 years after he disappeared.
Nkala's son, who declined to be named, said his father went missing in 1983 after he was seized by soldiers from the North Korea-trained 5 Brigade.
The Nkala family claimed they were related to the late Enos Nkala who was the Defence minister at the height of the Gukurahundi massacres and is often accused of instigating what has been described as genocide.
"The remains of the Gukurahundi victim, Nehemiah, who was killed by 5 Brigade soldiers, were reburied in Lupanda area at a farm in Mkhomo," his elder brother, Amon, said.
Amon said they were related to the late Nkala, as they originally hailed from Filabusi.
"We used to live in Filabusi, where Enos came from and we happened to relocate to Lupanda years before the atrocities," he explained.
He said he had no hard feelings towards Enos as "it is all history now".
"I am just happy that a better shelter has now been built for my brother who was massacred alongside many people in the village," Amon said.
"We could not get authority to exhume the remains, instead we were allowed to secure the grave by erecting a tombstone."
Hundreds of people gathered at the Nkala homestead to witness the reburial which they said was the first of its kind in the village.
Nkala was born in 1944 and disappeared on February 3 1983 at the age of 39.
Nkala's son, who declined to be named, said his father went missing in 1983 after he was seized by soldiers from the North Korea-trained 5 Brigade.
The Nkala family claimed they were related to the late Enos Nkala who was the Defence minister at the height of the Gukurahundi massacres and is often accused of instigating what has been described as genocide.
"The remains of the Gukurahundi victim, Nehemiah, who was killed by 5 Brigade soldiers, were reburied in Lupanda area at a farm in Mkhomo," his elder brother, Amon, said.
Amon said they were related to the late Nkala, as they originally hailed from Filabusi.
"We used to live in Filabusi, where Enos came from and we happened to relocate to Lupanda years before the atrocities," he explained.
He said he had no hard feelings towards Enos as "it is all history now".
"I am just happy that a better shelter has now been built for my brother who was massacred alongside many people in the village," Amon said.
"We could not get authority to exhume the remains, instead we were allowed to secure the grave by erecting a tombstone."
Hundreds of people gathered at the Nkala homestead to witness the reburial which they said was the first of its kind in the village.
Nkala was born in 1944 and disappeared on February 3 1983 at the age of 39.
Source - Southern Eye
