Amhlophe to a true Hero of Gukurahundi

Yesterday I attended the celebratory mass and party held in honour of Joel Silonda's 90th birthday.

I have described Joel, in a twitter post, as one of the great heroes of the Gukurahundi period and some have written to say they do not know anything about him, which in itself says a lot about Zimbabwe and our recording of history.

In January 1983 when the 5th Brigade was first deployed to Tsholotsho Joel was Chairman of the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Bulawayo. He started getting reports from priests and other people in the Catholic Church that terrible things were happening in the rural areas where a curfew was in force.

At great risk to his own life he investigated these reports and was the first to alert Bishop Karlen and Mike Auret in Harare what was going on. Over the next few years Joel tirelessly and courageously represented the forgotten and unrepresented poor people of Matabeleland.

He played a key role in identifying victims who came forward to give affidavits about what had happened in December 1983 at St Mary's Cathedral, Bulawayo, in preparation for the Chihambakwe Commission which started its hearings in early 1984.

This was perilous work as it involved going into areas where the 5th Brigade was still operating with impunity, to meet with victims and witnesses, and then bring them to Bulawayo. During the next three years he continued to ensure that victims were brought to the attention of the CCJP lawyers. What makes his work particularly courageous is that he was not a priest, did not have any title, and therefore was particularly vulnerable to the 5th Brigade, PISI and the CIO. He could have "disappeared" in an instant and the world would have been none the wiser.

I have rarely met such a Godly man - he is in many respects a gentle giant - a big man with a huge heart and compassion which knows no bounds. He is indeed one of Zimbabwe's true heroes and it has been a great privilege to count him as a friend since he first brought cases to me over 30 years ago.

Amhlope Joel. God bless and keep you for many more years.

David Coltart is the current MDC Secretary for legal affairs and a senior partner at Webb Louw and Barry legal practitioners in Bulawayo. During the Gukurahundi years he was in charge of receiving matters of human rights abuse in the Matabeleland Region by the Gukuruhundi. He writes in his personal capacity and this post was extracted from his personal Facebook account.