'Mphoko must shut up on Gukurahundi'

A BULAWAYO political pressure group, Ibhetshu Likazulu, has told Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko he is the wrong person to try and bring about closure to the emotive Gukurahundi issue, as the 1980s killings continue to dominate discourse in the Matabeleland region.

The pressure group's leader, Mbuso Fuzwayo said by virtue of belonging to Zanu-PF, the party in power during the massacres, Mphoko was approaching the Gukurahundi issue with dirty hands.

"It is unfortunate that the perpetrator is now prescribing the solution.

"Mphoko, representing the State that is the perpetrator, cannot prescribe on what must be done," Fuzwayo said, although he conceded that by facilitating the issuance of identity documents, which has long been a sore issue for those affected by the killings, the Vice-President was on the right track.

"What I don't know is what they are going to do about death certificates, especially for those who were abducted and never returned."

Fuzwayo said Mphoko must expend his energies on ensuring the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission was set up and open up the way for restorative justice.

"The victims must be allowed to say how they want the whole process to be done, not the top (perpetrator) prescribing, we will not allow that," he said.

"Reburials cannot be done without experts because there is a need for forensic experts, and pathologist."

Addressing members of the Late Chief Malaki Masuku's family in Nathisa in Matobo district at the weekend, Mphoko said the government had embarked on a programme to address challenges posed by Gukurahundi in order to bring closure to the issue.

Mphoko said the government was in the process of issuing birth certificates to children whose parents were victims of the massacres and was constructing monuments on mass graves to bring the issue to finality.

But, Fuzwayo said the issue will never be closed by anyone until the perpetrators, particularly President Robert Mugabe, publicly apologises for the State-sanctioned massacres of an estimated 20 000 people.

"We are talking about genocide, not just a crime. Truth telling, justice and so on is the way to go," he said.