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D-Day for Gukurahundi hearings court challenge
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The Bulawayo High Court is set to hear a case today brought by ZAPU leader Sibangilizwe Nkomo, who is contesting the manner in which public hearings into the 1980s Matabeleland massacres, commonly known as Gukurahundi, are being conducted.
The public hearings, originally scheduled to commence last Thursday, have been delayed following Nkomo's urgent court application filed on Saturday seeking to halt the process. He argues that the proposed hearings are flawed and risk erasing critical evidence related to the massacres.
Nkomo's challenge targets a 2019 resolution that authorised traditional leaders to lead the hearings. This decision came after a meeting between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and a group calling itself the Matabeleland Collective.
"As a duly registered political party, we are aggrieved by this decision and initiative by the respondents in that it is unlawful," Nkomo stated in his application. He contended that traditional leaders, particularly chiefs, lack the mandate to lead such a national process and questioned their impartiality.
"We are of the firm view that chiefs and more particularly the National Council of Chiefs, are unlikely to be impartial and unbiased in the conduct of the process and consequently leading to a regressive outcome," Nkomo added.
The respondents named in the application include President Mnangagwa, Local Government and Public Works Minister Daniel Garwe, Chiefs Council President Chief Mtshane Khumalo, and the National Chiefs Council.
Nkomo further argued that the agreement between Mnangagwa and the Matabeleland Collective had no legal basis. He asserted that ZAPU, as the political representative of the people of Matabeleland and Midlands provinces, has the right to participate in national processes such as these.
"Closure cannot be achieved through flawed public hearings," he said. "Instead, a neutral, impartial and progressive commission can handle a legitimate process in good faith."
He warned that failure by the court to intervene could result in the population of Matabeleland and Midlands being "robbed" of justice, potentially fueling discord, hatred, disunity, and reopening old wounds rather than promoting healing.
By yesterday, the respondents had yet to file their responses to the application.
President Mnangagwa has pledged to address the country's painful history, which former President Robert Mugabe described as "a moment of madness." Mugabe passed away without apologizing for the actions of the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade, which terrorised communities in Matabeleland and Midlands during the early 1980s, resulting in the deaths of over 20,000 civilians according to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe.
The public hearings, originally scheduled to commence last Thursday, have been delayed following Nkomo's urgent court application filed on Saturday seeking to halt the process. He argues that the proposed hearings are flawed and risk erasing critical evidence related to the massacres.
Nkomo's challenge targets a 2019 resolution that authorised traditional leaders to lead the hearings. This decision came after a meeting between President Emmerson Mnangagwa and a group calling itself the Matabeleland Collective.
"As a duly registered political party, we are aggrieved by this decision and initiative by the respondents in that it is unlawful," Nkomo stated in his application. He contended that traditional leaders, particularly chiefs, lack the mandate to lead such a national process and questioned their impartiality.
"We are of the firm view that chiefs and more particularly the National Council of Chiefs, are unlikely to be impartial and unbiased in the conduct of the process and consequently leading to a regressive outcome," Nkomo added.
Nkomo further argued that the agreement between Mnangagwa and the Matabeleland Collective had no legal basis. He asserted that ZAPU, as the political representative of the people of Matabeleland and Midlands provinces, has the right to participate in national processes such as these.
"Closure cannot be achieved through flawed public hearings," he said. "Instead, a neutral, impartial and progressive commission can handle a legitimate process in good faith."
He warned that failure by the court to intervene could result in the population of Matabeleland and Midlands being "robbed" of justice, potentially fueling discord, hatred, disunity, and reopening old wounds rather than promoting healing.
By yesterday, the respondents had yet to file their responses to the application.
President Mnangagwa has pledged to address the country's painful history, which former President Robert Mugabe described as "a moment of madness." Mugabe passed away without apologizing for the actions of the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade, which terrorised communities in Matabeleland and Midlands during the early 1980s, resulting in the deaths of over 20,000 civilians according to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe.
Source - Southern Eye
