No secret programs can make up for Gukurahundi genocidal massacres

Sentiments made by ZimPF's Dr Joyce Mujuru on South African news channel ETV yesterday raises more dust than we already inhaled.

Dr Mujuru in the interview claims to have visited Gukurahundi victims at Squatter Camps in Bulawayo. She also claims that she, in conjunction with her party have a secret program aimed at redressing the atrocities. She also claims she has consulted chiefs in the affected areas about the genocide.

Well, many questions rise from these pronouncements by Joyce Mujuru. First and foremost, the government of Zimbabwe has not taken responsibility of the early 1980s atrocities. The closest they got to admit the genocide was when Mugabe remarked at Nkomo's burial that it was a moment of madness.

For Dr Mujuru, a member of the government then and whose husband was commanding the army to make such claims raises more questions than answers especially on her moral worthiness. Dr Mujuru must believe we are naïve to believe she knew nothing about the Gukurahundi genocide now that she openly absolves the perpetrating government and wholesomely taking responsibility for the killings.

Dr Mujuru has taken it upon herself not only to admit the genocide, but to even visit her supposed victims and instituting a program of redress. Anybody will be forgiven to suspect she is doing this because of the guilt conscience in her. Should we not be forgiven to believe that Dr Mujuru is not guilty by association or complicity but by actually having been actively involved in the killings?

The classic Nazi denial at Nuremberg continues to play out of Dr Mujuru every time Gukurahundi issue pops up during her interviews. Then it was Albert Speer claiming ignorance as to what Hitler was up to and today it is Joyce Teurai Ropa Mujuru claiming she didn't know Mugabe was committing genocide in Midlands and Matabeleland.

It then boggles the mind as to how Dr Mujuru visits victims and works on a redress plan for a crime she knew nothing of when it took place. Dr Mujuru is so in denial of Gukurahundi that she deliberately mistook victims of her governments Murambatsvina for victims of Gukurahundi. Well, just a piece of advise Mai Mujuru, the people you visited at Ngozi Mine in Bulawayo are not Gukurahundi victims-they are victims of Murambatsvina as committed by your government leaving thousands if not millions homeless and destitute. That you met one ex-ZPRA cadre there does not turn those people into Gukurahundi victims, but they remain Murambatsvina victims.

The big question then come up-why is Dr Mujuru and her party secretly engaged in the Gukurahundi issue when people were publicly murdered by the Fifth Brigade? The genocide has adopted an election issue, so how can a party that need the victims' votes have a secret program to solve or address the issue?

Another question Dr Mujuru needs to respond to is which traditional chiefs has she been in consultation with pertaining this issue? Are they the same traditional chiefs whom she intimidated and terrorized into voting ZANU when she was in government before she got kicked out? Is she claiming the complicity of traditional leaders in this genocide? Are the chiefs the victims?

Dr Mujuru is ever reluctant to discuss on the possible prosecution of perpetrators. Why?

ZAPU calls Dr Mujuru to order pertaining this issue. We advise the ZimPF leader to instead follow the constitution and advocate with us for the expeditious operationalisation of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission which will conduct public hearings on Gukurahundi in which victims and perpetrators will come forward and make their deposititions. This will pave way for public admission of responsibility by the perpetrators while victims can begin to be healed in all forms. No secret redress programs will solve this or absolve those who are guilty either by commission or omission.

Iphithule kaMaphosa
Deputy National Spokesperson
zapuinfor@yahoo.com
www.zapu24.com