Opinion / Columnist
Arbitrary arrests won’t solve Gukurahundi
21 Mar 2019 at 17:44hrs | Views
Zimbabwe African People's Union is dismayed by the state's arrest on journalist Zenzele Ndebele at Bulawayo State House today.
As much as it is a clear misplacement of priorities in a country so devastated by bad weather in the eastern side, it is also insulting to the nation that President Mnangagwa hires a private jet to Bulawayo only to come and facilitate an arrest of a journalist whose crime is nothing but investigating and sharing information on Gukurahundi.
Persecuting and arresting Zenzele Ndebele and all others before and after him does not change the fact that Gukurahundi atrocities took place.
Arresting and detaining victims an d those advocating for solutions on the genocide on trumped up charges does not alter facts that Mnangagwa was instigator and implementer of Gukurahundi as minister of state security.
It will never change the fact that innocent lives of unarmed civilians including the elderly, women and children were lost in Matabeleland and Midlands. Neither does it change the fact that ZANU PF government orchestrated the killings for political gains, with achieving a one party state topping the list.
Mnangagwa and his folks in government must come back from Disneyland and face the reality that they have to account for their evil deeds and the day is fast approaching.
Mnangagwa must also be reminded that Gukurahundi was not committed against the civic society for which he hires expensive jets to go and meet behind reinforced walls of State House.
It was committed on unarmed communities in rural Matabeleland who still nurse fresh wounds from the barbaric actions of ZANU PF and the Fifth Brigade, with Mnangagwa at the forefront making toxic statements whenever he visited the region.
That is where Mnangagwa must go and speak to the people he wronged, not the civic society in Bulawayo. That way he won't have the headache of having to arrest journalists.
ZAPU demands immediate release of Zenzele Ndebele whom we believe is being persecuted for his documentary on the atrocities of Gukurahundi and continued coverage of the subject.
We also demand ZANU PF dictatorship to respect the journalism which is never a crime but a profession which Zenzele carries with dignifying competence.
We call the party to order and stop persecuting journalists and all other voices of dissent.
The only way out is to resolve the genocide Mnangagwa and his government committed. Arresting us for demanding solution will never solve it.
As much as it is a clear misplacement of priorities in a country so devastated by bad weather in the eastern side, it is also insulting to the nation that President Mnangagwa hires a private jet to Bulawayo only to come and facilitate an arrest of a journalist whose crime is nothing but investigating and sharing information on Gukurahundi.
Persecuting and arresting Zenzele Ndebele and all others before and after him does not change the fact that Gukurahundi atrocities took place.
Arresting and detaining victims an d those advocating for solutions on the genocide on trumped up charges does not alter facts that Mnangagwa was instigator and implementer of Gukurahundi as minister of state security.
It will never change the fact that innocent lives of unarmed civilians including the elderly, women and children were lost in Matabeleland and Midlands. Neither does it change the fact that ZANU PF government orchestrated the killings for political gains, with achieving a one party state topping the list.
Mnangagwa and his folks in government must come back from Disneyland and face the reality that they have to account for their evil deeds and the day is fast approaching.
Mnangagwa must also be reminded that Gukurahundi was not committed against the civic society for which he hires expensive jets to go and meet behind reinforced walls of State House.
It was committed on unarmed communities in rural Matabeleland who still nurse fresh wounds from the barbaric actions of ZANU PF and the Fifth Brigade, with Mnangagwa at the forefront making toxic statements whenever he visited the region.
That is where Mnangagwa must go and speak to the people he wronged, not the civic society in Bulawayo. That way he won't have the headache of having to arrest journalists.
ZAPU demands immediate release of Zenzele Ndebele whom we believe is being persecuted for his documentary on the atrocities of Gukurahundi and continued coverage of the subject.
We also demand ZANU PF dictatorship to respect the journalism which is never a crime but a profession which Zenzele carries with dignifying competence.
We call the party to order and stop persecuting journalists and all other voices of dissent.
The only way out is to resolve the genocide Mnangagwa and his government committed. Arresting us for demanding solution will never solve it.
Source - ZAPU
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