Opinion / Columnist
Mujuru not involved in Gukurahundi operations
05 Apr 2017 at 10:37hrs | Views
A debate is raging as to whether or not the late former Zimbabwean army commander, Solomon Mujuru had a hand in the government's ethnic cleansing campaign in Matabeleland and some parts of the Midlands province in the early 80s.
The massacres,which left more than 20 000 civillians dead were carried out by the infamous Fifth Brigade-an exclusively Shona speaking army unit assembled by Zanu(PF) but trained and armed by North Korea from standard combat rifles to battle tanks.The truth is that the Fifth Brigade did not fall under normal army structures which means it was under Mujuru's command.The army unit was controlled by politicians and served as a Zanu(PF) militia.Since it was controlled from the Prime Minister's office,it worked closely with psychopathic agents of the Central Intelligence Organisation(CIO).
The CIO carried lists of Zapu officials,former Zipra cadres and councillors who were targeted for assassination or arrest.Guerrillas of South Africa's Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) some of whom were still under Zipra care-found themselves targeted by the CIO and the Fifth Brigade.But some of Mujuru's opponents in Zipra defended the late former Zanla guerrilla commander saying he was not directly involved in the genocide despite being the overall army commander.
But some feel Mujuru should have taken the blame as he was the commander of the defence forces during the massacres-later described by Mugabe as a "moment of madness" by his government. The deployment of the Fifth Brigade was a political decision not military. His widow, war veteran and now opposition leader, former vice-president Joice Mujuru has also defended her husband saying he was not part of the decision to unleash the killer brigade onto the defenceless population of Matabeleland and Midlands.
His close friends say there was nothing he could have done to stop Mugabe from deploying the Fifth Brigade.Mugabe was his commander in chief and if he had tried to intervene and stop the killing of civilians using the national army,his actions would have been viewed as a coup attempt or a declaration of war against the Fifth Brigade pitting the united national army and the tribal army unit. The brigade was directly accountable to Mugabe's office so did its commander, Perrence Shiri.
According to some former Zanla cadres,Mujuru did not attend the meeting the day the decision to deploy Gukurahundi was taken by the state security committee (SSC). The SSC was allegedly chaired at the time by Ernest Kadungure but Mugabe had the final say. The meeting which sealed the fate of Nkomo supporters was attended by Perrence Shiri and his close friend who was the commander of 1 Brigade in Bulawayo. Shiri told politicians at the meeting to leave the Ndebeles and Zapu to him.He began by purging the few Zipra cadres who were drafted into the brigade without knowing its real purpose.
In the 80s no one in Zanu (PF) would have stood up to Mugabe and opposed his decision to deploy the killer brigade especially if that decision involved crushing Zapu,Joshua Nkomo and the Ndebeles. But I was informed by those close to Mujuru that only the former army commander had the balls to stand up to Mugabe even at crucial party meetings.Mugabe was indebted to Mujuru after the former army commander allegedly helped him crush a rebellion by Zanla dissidents who had opposed his leadership after the ouster of Ndabaningi Sithole as Zanu leader.
A Zanla faction which did not want Mugabe to take over from Sithole rebelled and Mujuru-known as Rex Nhongo at that time, crushed the rebels allowing Mugabe to take over the leadership of the party. Mujuru, as Mugabe's saviour was feared by Zanu leaders because of the respect he commanded in Zanla ranks. Former Home Affairs and Zipra intelligence chief during the liberation war, Dumiso Dabengwa has also come out in the open to defend his former war rival Mujuru. Some people however were quick to criticise Dabengwa for defending Mujuru calling him a sell-out.Some of those attacking him were not even born when the massacres occurred.
Joice Mujuru is on record as saying the deployment of the Fifth Brigade was an executive decision.She has tried to distance herself from that decision although she was a cabinet minister at the time.Mujuru said she was too junior to have challenged Mugabe.Thats why she and others kept quiet.The victims and survivors are not satisfied with her explanation and say they don't want her to visit Matabeleland to campaign for votes.
Joice Mujuru and other former Zanu leaders are now being followed by ghosts of the massacres where-ever they go.If they thought the truth of the massacres was buried in mass graves together with the victims,they were wrong.The families of the dead are still demanding justice.The Fifth Brigade became Zanu's weapon of mass destruction(WMD)- slaughtering 3000 civilians within a space of three weeks of its deployment in northern Matabeleland.
The youthful soldiers left a trail of destruction as they rampaged through the villages of Matabeleland and Midlands.They left behind them burning homesteads,dead bodies and mass graves.When they got tired of killing, beatings and torturing of their victims, the teenage soldiers took pleasure in raping Ndebele, Kalanga, Venda and Sotho girls. After satisfying their sexual desires, the beatings, killings and torture would continue. The young soldiers almost eclipsed Pol Pot's brutal and blood sucking Kahmer Rouge guerrillas in terms of savagery. Thousands of villagers in Matabeleland fled into refugee camps in Botswana which remained Zapu's only loyal friend in the region.
The majority of Fifth Brigade recruits were remnants of Zanla's teenage fighters and village informants known as Mujubhas. The teenage Zanla guerrillas did not see combat action during the war as most of them arrived late at training camps. The North Koreans gave them that opportunity to showcase their fighting skills in Matabeleland. The brigade was a complete North Korean outfit from weapons to uniforms and radios. It was not compatible with other national army units and its commanders answered directly to Mugabe. The soldiers were easily distinguishable with their red berets.
NOTE: The writer is a freelance journalist based in Matabeleland.He covered the "killing fields" of Matabeleland in the 80s and came face to face with the Fifth Brigade killers in Ntabazinduna.
The massacres,which left more than 20 000 civillians dead were carried out by the infamous Fifth Brigade-an exclusively Shona speaking army unit assembled by Zanu(PF) but trained and armed by North Korea from standard combat rifles to battle tanks.The truth is that the Fifth Brigade did not fall under normal army structures which means it was under Mujuru's command.The army unit was controlled by politicians and served as a Zanu(PF) militia.Since it was controlled from the Prime Minister's office,it worked closely with psychopathic agents of the Central Intelligence Organisation(CIO).
The CIO carried lists of Zapu officials,former Zipra cadres and councillors who were targeted for assassination or arrest.Guerrillas of South Africa's Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) some of whom were still under Zipra care-found themselves targeted by the CIO and the Fifth Brigade.But some of Mujuru's opponents in Zipra defended the late former Zanla guerrilla commander saying he was not directly involved in the genocide despite being the overall army commander.
But some feel Mujuru should have taken the blame as he was the commander of the defence forces during the massacres-later described by Mugabe as a "moment of madness" by his government. The deployment of the Fifth Brigade was a political decision not military. His widow, war veteran and now opposition leader, former vice-president Joice Mujuru has also defended her husband saying he was not part of the decision to unleash the killer brigade onto the defenceless population of Matabeleland and Midlands.
His close friends say there was nothing he could have done to stop Mugabe from deploying the Fifth Brigade.Mugabe was his commander in chief and if he had tried to intervene and stop the killing of civilians using the national army,his actions would have been viewed as a coup attempt or a declaration of war against the Fifth Brigade pitting the united national army and the tribal army unit. The brigade was directly accountable to Mugabe's office so did its commander, Perrence Shiri.
According to some former Zanla cadres,Mujuru did not attend the meeting the day the decision to deploy Gukurahundi was taken by the state security committee (SSC). The SSC was allegedly chaired at the time by Ernest Kadungure but Mugabe had the final say. The meeting which sealed the fate of Nkomo supporters was attended by Perrence Shiri and his close friend who was the commander of 1 Brigade in Bulawayo. Shiri told politicians at the meeting to leave the Ndebeles and Zapu to him.He began by purging the few Zipra cadres who were drafted into the brigade without knowing its real purpose.
A Zanla faction which did not want Mugabe to take over from Sithole rebelled and Mujuru-known as Rex Nhongo at that time, crushed the rebels allowing Mugabe to take over the leadership of the party. Mujuru, as Mugabe's saviour was feared by Zanu leaders because of the respect he commanded in Zanla ranks. Former Home Affairs and Zipra intelligence chief during the liberation war, Dumiso Dabengwa has also come out in the open to defend his former war rival Mujuru. Some people however were quick to criticise Dabengwa for defending Mujuru calling him a sell-out.Some of those attacking him were not even born when the massacres occurred.
Joice Mujuru is on record as saying the deployment of the Fifth Brigade was an executive decision.She has tried to distance herself from that decision although she was a cabinet minister at the time.Mujuru said she was too junior to have challenged Mugabe.Thats why she and others kept quiet.The victims and survivors are not satisfied with her explanation and say they don't want her to visit Matabeleland to campaign for votes.
Joice Mujuru and other former Zanu leaders are now being followed by ghosts of the massacres where-ever they go.If they thought the truth of the massacres was buried in mass graves together with the victims,they were wrong.The families of the dead are still demanding justice.The Fifth Brigade became Zanu's weapon of mass destruction(WMD)- slaughtering 3000 civilians within a space of three weeks of its deployment in northern Matabeleland.
The youthful soldiers left a trail of destruction as they rampaged through the villages of Matabeleland and Midlands.They left behind them burning homesteads,dead bodies and mass graves.When they got tired of killing, beatings and torturing of their victims, the teenage soldiers took pleasure in raping Ndebele, Kalanga, Venda and Sotho girls. After satisfying their sexual desires, the beatings, killings and torture would continue. The young soldiers almost eclipsed Pol Pot's brutal and blood sucking Kahmer Rouge guerrillas in terms of savagery. Thousands of villagers in Matabeleland fled into refugee camps in Botswana which remained Zapu's only loyal friend in the region.
The majority of Fifth Brigade recruits were remnants of Zanla's teenage fighters and village informants known as Mujubhas. The teenage Zanla guerrillas did not see combat action during the war as most of them arrived late at training camps. The North Koreans gave them that opportunity to showcase their fighting skills in Matabeleland. The brigade was a complete North Korean outfit from weapons to uniforms and radios. It was not compatible with other national army units and its commanders answered directly to Mugabe. The soldiers were easily distinguishable with their red berets.
NOTE: The writer is a freelance journalist based in Matabeleland.He covered the "killing fields" of Matabeleland in the 80s and came face to face with the Fifth Brigade killers in Ntabazinduna.
Source - Thabo Kunene
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