The Gukurahundi atrocities

The Mnangagwa peace and reconciliation commission has either gone owl or it still keeps its operations and itinerary unknown to the people that it's supposed to serve. So far we haven't heard of any place that they have visited and scored a commendation, nada. I am a victim of the carnage and many other people at my homestead in Tsholotsho. Our cases are well documented and more in detail in the book I helped research information of which was published by ZimRights titled "Coming into Terms with Gukurahundi Atrocities(Building Peace and Development)". This 70 page book chronicles some of the killings In detail, and in this chronicle is my father's name. To my surprise, Emmerson Mnangagwa's Government has all this information and more yet they are failing to cut the long story short and go for the last part which is compensation. We have researched for the past what 30 years and we have all the information we want. There is also the Chihambagwe Commission Report which the Mugabe Government refused to make public yet they choose to politically waffle to no end. I think he wants to use the phoney commission to win the election period.

In the wake of all this there are some people who are holding meaningless meetings, meetings whose agenda is not clear and smerk of personal organisations advertising scenes. We the victims are watching with tears running down our chicks. This is not only cheap and diabolical politicking but also some pathetic and mockery activity. Maybe you don't understand the pain in us. It is that of grief from loss of loved ones in a situation where the state was involved and therefore you need the state to reach a solution. Our relatives had done no wrong but were mass murdered and buried in shallow graves. This was a national tragedy and so remains a national problem requiring a national solution by the nation of Zimbabwe through national structures. Not some joyous egocentric English eloquence at a city hall behind a cup of tea indabas. These embarrassing and sheepish efforts which have no aim of bringing a solution to the victims who need to know who did it and why should stop. This is also abuse of our city halls where such meetings take place. These hypocritic activities should be made unlawful national disturbances and therefore chargeable offences.

The Commission should involve churches and those other organisations that were already in operation when this horror was being conducted. The efforts of these organizations of lobbying government to try and find closure in this national disaster are well documented and known. They are the Zimbabwe Council of Churches, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace(CCJP), Zimbabwe Human Rights Association(ZimRights), the Bulawayo Legal Project Centre(BLPC), the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights and the Pentecostals Association. Some played a big role in bringing the massacres to an end. This will give confidence to the information providers and the really truth may be unravelled which will help put this matter to closure.

With all due respect, referring to any unity accord or any negotiations somehow reached during that time would be folly and unjust because those were activities conducted under a dark cloud cast over Matebeleland and the Midlands and those agreements might have been reached under duress. This is where certain of our leadership becomes questionable because some are on record as having said "'we cannot open old wounds'". What an embarrassing and an uncalculating political indulgence because these are the same people who today are dying for an opportunity to attend 'a Gukurahundi indaba', shame or shame hypocrisy, oh my God. Who are you really?

Every successful endeavour needs advice and good listening and I am sure that if we keep advising each and listening carefully we may reach our goal that of lessening pain to the victims of this horror and consequently bringing closure. This is all about being hamane and delivering humanity aspects.

Clement Moyo
Mediation for Peace Centre
+263 712 708 284/77 662 090
clemenmoyo@gmail.com