Gukurahundi healing hearings begin

NATIONAL peace and reconciliation hearings started yesterday in Victoria Falls and Masvingo to pave way for a law that will promote national healing.

In Victoria Falls participants said they want perpetrators of the 1980's disturbances to openly confess and apologise to victims for them to be  forgiven.

Contributing at a public hearing to gather people's views towards the crafting of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission Bill, Victoria Falls participants said the term Truth should be added to the Bill's name.

"The name of the Bill should be amended to read 'National Truth, Peace and Reconciliation Commission Bill' because it's difficult to achieve peace and reconciliation when there is no truth and confession," said Miss Nothando Bhebhe, a Victoria Falls resident.

Another participant Mr Godfrey Dube from Mkhosana suburb said perpetrators should openly admit and the Commission would then decide what happens thereafter.

"People should openly confess because I can't forgive someone before he or she confesses sins.

"This mustn't be subjected to voting in Parliament because that would compromise our recommendations," he said.

Mr Dube said peaceful co-existence of tribes starts with respect for respective cultures without some infringing upon others.

Another resident, Mr Dumisani Ncube called for public hearings to be spread to rural areas such as Lupane and Tsholotsho.

"We feel by continuously raising this issue you are opening old wounds. Why can't a mechanism be put in place to force perpetrators to come out and apologise to us? They know themselves and all we want is for them to openly apologise. There are children who don't have identification documents because their parents were killed by Gukurahundi and all these are issues that need to be addressed hence we want perpetrators to come and apologise than for you to open old wounds," said Mr Ncube.

Mr Royal Ndlovu who presented a position paper for the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace said: "The Bill should investigate larger areas of conflict that affect people with provision for safety and protection of witnesses and free legal representation for them."

Some expressed fears that they will be tracked and victimised for speaking openly about the disturbances.

The public hearings are being spearheaded by a joint team comprising the Portfolio Committee on Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Thematic Committee on Human Rights and the Thematic Committee on Peace and Security.

The joint Committee will today hold a similar meeting at the Large City Hall in Bulawayo.

During another hearing held in Masvingo at the civic centre, residents called for the setting up of the NPRC provincial and district offices so that citizens can have easy access to justice.

Masvingo residents said decentralisation will ensure that citizens find it easy to report cases of violence.

They also said the Bill must have provisions for the compensation and protection of victims of political violence especially in the rural areas.

"As residents we wish the bill to make a provision for the establishment of offices at provincial and district level in Masvingo.

"The bill should explicitly state that the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) should be independent from Minister or government's interference," said Mr Prosper Tiringindi of Masvingo Residents Trust.