Matabeleland: the case of a bitter people

Just less than 72 hours ago social media was and is still awash with an article where I allegedly arrogantly said "I will take Mujuru to Bhalagwe".

I want to personally apologise to anyone whom that comment could have hurt one way or the other, wrongly published for wrong reasons as it were.

I want to express my sincere gratitude to the so called 'Staff writer" of the ever lying online website known as the Zimeye.

I am a social democrat and I believe in media liberty and the online paper did well in exercising its role not withstanding in a manner that violets my rights and abusive to me as a person.

The story does not only expose poor and unethical journalism but exposes the mischiveous and malicious nature of its editorial policy if ever it has any.

A select, cut and paste statement from an informal  whatsapp chat group where anybody can say anything is then used to create a holabaloo while so many people in chat groups have said deep and more senstive things.

It appears that whoever sold the story to Zimeye has a personal vendetta against me but is a coward, a genuine person would engage me and I would clarify issues.

The context of the statement is that I had challenged those that were angry that the People First leader Dr Joice Mujuru was alleged to have said she wanted to visit the Antelope mine mass grave near Bhalagwe in Kezi during a rally in Gwanda to come clean on the subject.

I had challenged them on facts and merits of the Newsday headline to use their basic English literature analysis skills. The Newsday headline was also malicious and misleading in that the actual content of the story, in the direct, verbatim quotation of Dr Mujuru's statement there is no mention of the word "mass grave" nor " Gukurahundi" but in the context she talked about the need for leader to visit every corner of the country and understand the challenges bedeviling those communities in order to inform their policy formulation as well as to have those people to be represented in decision making.

She then went on to announce her desire to visit most of these communities citing examples such as Chikwalakwala, Beitbridge, Mhalalume, Bhalagwem in the context of villages to meet the  people.

I said in context, Dr Mujuru did not about mass graves nor Gukurahundi but the the reporter either out of failure to grasp issues ( i presume she or he is a student on attachment at Newsday) failed to grasp the main theme of her speech or maliciously smuggled " Mass Grave and Gukurahundi" into the story deliberately to stimulate a backlash on Dr Mujuru and ZimPF in Matabeleland.

If the later is true I am of the view that the Newday is a partisan paper that seeks to bring bad publicity on other parties and if it was an error then the editor should take responsibility and apologise.

Why am I clarifying this? I was the interpretor for Dr Mujuru and I was so close to her and paying maximum attention to her speech and repeating her words verbatim in iSindebele i could not have missed such big words.

In this context therefore the debate ragged and I said ..' she has a right to visit anywhere.

The major challenge is that Gukurahundi left so much trauma and pain that is being tranfared from generation to generation and we as Matabele people , myself included are so hurting and bitter to an extent that our reasoning capacity gets crippled at the mention of that word, just like the word "cockroache"has an effect in the mind of a Tutsi in Rwanda.

I guess that is what those who planned the genocide wanted, to inflict pain whose impact would last for generations. They were naive, selfish and wrong, that is a recipe for a counter genocide in future.

Not only did they inflict pain through the physical mass killings, some of us were psychologicaly totured and traumatized through structural violence that includes marginalization, exclusion and sytematic manipulation.

I thus fully understand the spontaneous anger at my alleged statement , though out of context.

I would like to end by challenging us to be vigilant and patient.

The attacks that I got from a mere statement seems to cloud all the efforts and painful sacrifices I have made for my people. The malicious zimeye even made reference to just one of the battles I have fought together with the people of Matabeleland in particular and Zimbabwe in general.

I have taken risks at the jaws of a vicious regime, risks that jeopadised my life and family but today I am being villified and labelled traitor , "greedy and power hungry sellout", others alleging that I stole money others knowing my medical situation in that I have a wife who is struggling with a heart condition and that I also suffered a cardiac arrest in June went insensitively ballastic alleging that they have evidence that Dr Mujuru pays my medical bills.

As a Christian I leave that to God. Scriputure tells me that vengeance belongs to God.

May I conclude by saying this is one of the experiences that leaves me stronger in the faith than before. It shows me how my master felt at Getsemane. It has rather given me free publicity and showed me that I can even vie for a Vice President' s post, I had never dreamt of it. I might perhaps begin to campain.

Above all I am deeply moved by love. I am compeled to love my hurting people more . I now understand better how Matabeleland bleeds and I appeal to the President of the party that I have decided to work with in politics as an Apostle to the governance like Daniel to seriously have a way of dealing with this pain in the party policy and that must be first priority. A policy that will stop the tribalistic nature of society build one Zimbabwe one nation, where all citizens are equal.

A policy that will have an affirmative action and clear plan to redress the effects of the genocide.

I call upon you Madam President and others like Baba Mutasa who were in government during the time of the attrocities to be ready to testify before the NPRC in fact take the lead in that like Winnie Madikizela Mandela did before the TRC in 1994 in South Africa, that will begin a nation building project.

I personally call upon the current government to implement and adhere to the constitution of the land, respect citizens rights, stop the violations currently going on.

I call upon the begining of the Nation Peace and Reconciliation process and enshrined in the constitution..l am aware that some of us want justice though now is not the right time for justice since the pepertrators are in power.

I call upon the brothers and sister to be warry of stories in the social media, not everything written is true. You may crucify your Messiah unknowingly but overeacting on anything you read.

I love you all, even those that gave me free publicity.l appreciate that.
God bless you..