Opinion / Columnist
Mthwakazi rejects the genocide interviews: No justice under the perpetrator's gavel
3 hrs ago | Views
The government of Zimbabwe has announced its so-called Gukurahundi Public Hearings, set to begin soon under the stewardship of none other than Chief Fortune Charumbira, a well-known ZANU-PF loyalist and unapologetic defender of the ruling regime. Let us be absolutely clear from the start: this is not justice. This is not healing. This is a state-sanctioned charade, a grotesque insult to the victims, survivors, and descendants of the Matabeleland and Midlands gukurahundi genocide.
For the people of Matabeleland, this announcement is divisive by excluding the Midlands, the snnounce does not bring hope. It opens old wounds without offering balm. It reeks of arrogance, contempt, and calculated manipulation. It is an insult, and Mthwakazi must and will reject this genocidal spectacle masquerading as aimed at healing and reconciliation.
A Sham Disguised as Healing
The ruling gukurahundista elite, led by the very architects of the 1980s slaughter, now want to pretend they are facilitators of dialogue and healing. But how can the butcher wear a priest's robe and be taken seriously? How can we expect justice when the referee is the perpetrator, the witness is the victim, and the courtroom is the same state-sponsored torture chamber that silenced an entire region for decades? We will not be interviewed by chiefs, no, we will not tell chiefs our pain because they know everything. They can can write books about it and lay bare the atrocities committed in their places. They live among the people they know. Since they and Charumbira have been tasked to find out from the people, they may as will sit in a hotel and write a report from each chief. Finish and clara. We want to tell the nation and the world, not chiefs in a room alone facing a gukurahundista appointed panel. We reject this charade.
This is not a process rooted in truth and reconciliation. This is a cynical, choreographed circus designed to sanitize the legacy of the state, whitewash crimes against humanity, and secure political legitimacy for those whose hands are still dripping with the blood of innocent civilians. Over 20,000 people , men, women, and children - were murdered. Thousands more were tortured, raped, and disappeared. And yet, no apology. No admission of guilt. No justice.
Charumbira: Genocide Apologist-in-Chief
Let's not mince our words. Chief Fortune Charumbira is a gukurahundista functionary, not an impartial traditional leader. His hands are tied to the party that orchestrated and defended the Matabeleland and Midlands gukurahundi atrocities for over 40 years. He is no more capable of delivering justice than a crocodile is capable of mourning its prey.
To place him at the helm of this process is to spit in the faces of the victims and tell them their pain is not worthy of real redress. He is a wolf asked to mediate with the sheep he once devoured. How can any sane nation believe this is a step forward?
Closed-Door "Public" Hearings: An Oxymoron
The hearings are being conducted in camera - behind closed doors - with vague promises of security and confidentiality. This is not only cowardly, it is a blatant violation of the very principles of truth-telling and reconciliation. Public hearings must be public. Truth must be laid bare under the gaze of the world, with journalists, independent observers, and international human rights monitors present.
Why the secrecy? What are they afraid of? That the truth might finally escape their carefully crafted narratives? That the victims' voices might pierce through the lies and reach the ears of the international community?
Let it be known: the Matabeleland/Midlands genocide cannot and will not be whitewashed in secrecy. Our trauma is not for sale, and our silence is not consent.
Resource Plunder in the Name of Healing
This entire charade is also a cash cow for elites. Millions of dollars will be poured into travel allowances, logistics, venue rentals, consultancy fees, and public relations spin. Another looting spree in the name of the dead.
Meanwhile, the people of Matabeleland continue to suffer. Schools are under-resourced. Clinics have no medicine. Roads are death traps. Water is a luxury. But somehow, the state has found the budget to stage a meaningless theatre of healing - while justice and reparations remain absent.
Our Message Is Clear: BOYCOTT THE SHAM, BOYCOTT CHARUMBIRA
We call on every victim, every family, every concerned citizen of Mthwakazi: Boycott this genocidal spectacle. Do not let your pain be repackaged as a propaganda tool. Do not stand before your abuser to explain how deeply he cut you - only for him to turn your tears into political capital.
Go on with your daily lives. Feed your children. Build your communities. But do not participate in this insult to your dignity.
When real healing comes - and it will - it will be led by neutral, credible, and internationally supervised bodies. It will be conducted in the open, with full media coverage, legal protections, and guarantees of justice and reparations. Until then, we say: NOT IN OUR NAME.
No Healing Without Justice. No Justice Without Truth. No Truth Without Accountability.
To Mnangagwa and his ilk: You do not get to absolve yourself by staging courtroom drama with your loyalists in judge's robes.
To the people of Zimbabwe: Real peace cannot be built on lies. Real reconciliation cannot coexist with impunity. Real healing requires truth, acknowledgment, restitution, and justice.
And to the world: We need you to witness this moment. The perpetrators of genocide are once again trampling the dignity of their victims. Their attempts to rewrite history with bloodied hands must not be allowed to succeed.
We remember the Matabeleland genocide's gukurahundi atrocities not as a “moment of madness,” but as a calculated extermination of a people. And we will never accept healing without justice. Let them hear us loud and clear:
MTHWAKAZI REJECTS THE GENOCIDE INTERVIEWS.
We are the victims. We will not be silenced. And we will not be fooled.
Fikile is political commentator. fikile.ntolilo@gmail.com
For the people of Matabeleland, this announcement is divisive by excluding the Midlands, the snnounce does not bring hope. It opens old wounds without offering balm. It reeks of arrogance, contempt, and calculated manipulation. It is an insult, and Mthwakazi must and will reject this genocidal spectacle masquerading as aimed at healing and reconciliation.
A Sham Disguised as Healing
The ruling gukurahundista elite, led by the very architects of the 1980s slaughter, now want to pretend they are facilitators of dialogue and healing. But how can the butcher wear a priest's robe and be taken seriously? How can we expect justice when the referee is the perpetrator, the witness is the victim, and the courtroom is the same state-sponsored torture chamber that silenced an entire region for decades? We will not be interviewed by chiefs, no, we will not tell chiefs our pain because they know everything. They can can write books about it and lay bare the atrocities committed in their places. They live among the people they know. Since they and Charumbira have been tasked to find out from the people, they may as will sit in a hotel and write a report from each chief. Finish and clara. We want to tell the nation and the world, not chiefs in a room alone facing a gukurahundista appointed panel. We reject this charade.
This is not a process rooted in truth and reconciliation. This is a cynical, choreographed circus designed to sanitize the legacy of the state, whitewash crimes against humanity, and secure political legitimacy for those whose hands are still dripping with the blood of innocent civilians. Over 20,000 people , men, women, and children - were murdered. Thousands more were tortured, raped, and disappeared. And yet, no apology. No admission of guilt. No justice.
Charumbira: Genocide Apologist-in-Chief
Let's not mince our words. Chief Fortune Charumbira is a gukurahundista functionary, not an impartial traditional leader. His hands are tied to the party that orchestrated and defended the Matabeleland and Midlands gukurahundi atrocities for over 40 years. He is no more capable of delivering justice than a crocodile is capable of mourning its prey.
To place him at the helm of this process is to spit in the faces of the victims and tell them their pain is not worthy of real redress. He is a wolf asked to mediate with the sheep he once devoured. How can any sane nation believe this is a step forward?
Closed-Door "Public" Hearings: An Oxymoron
The hearings are being conducted in camera - behind closed doors - with vague promises of security and confidentiality. This is not only cowardly, it is a blatant violation of the very principles of truth-telling and reconciliation. Public hearings must be public. Truth must be laid bare under the gaze of the world, with journalists, independent observers, and international human rights monitors present.
Why the secrecy? What are they afraid of? That the truth might finally escape their carefully crafted narratives? That the victims' voices might pierce through the lies and reach the ears of the international community?
Let it be known: the Matabeleland/Midlands genocide cannot and will not be whitewashed in secrecy. Our trauma is not for sale, and our silence is not consent.
Resource Plunder in the Name of Healing
This entire charade is also a cash cow for elites. Millions of dollars will be poured into travel allowances, logistics, venue rentals, consultancy fees, and public relations spin. Another looting spree in the name of the dead.
Meanwhile, the people of Matabeleland continue to suffer. Schools are under-resourced. Clinics have no medicine. Roads are death traps. Water is a luxury. But somehow, the state has found the budget to stage a meaningless theatre of healing - while justice and reparations remain absent.
Our Message Is Clear: BOYCOTT THE SHAM, BOYCOTT CHARUMBIRA
We call on every victim, every family, every concerned citizen of Mthwakazi: Boycott this genocidal spectacle. Do not let your pain be repackaged as a propaganda tool. Do not stand before your abuser to explain how deeply he cut you - only for him to turn your tears into political capital.
Go on with your daily lives. Feed your children. Build your communities. But do not participate in this insult to your dignity.
When real healing comes - and it will - it will be led by neutral, credible, and internationally supervised bodies. It will be conducted in the open, with full media coverage, legal protections, and guarantees of justice and reparations. Until then, we say: NOT IN OUR NAME.
No Healing Without Justice. No Justice Without Truth. No Truth Without Accountability.
To Mnangagwa and his ilk: You do not get to absolve yourself by staging courtroom drama with your loyalists in judge's robes.
To the people of Zimbabwe: Real peace cannot be built on lies. Real reconciliation cannot coexist with impunity. Real healing requires truth, acknowledgment, restitution, and justice.
And to the world: We need you to witness this moment. The perpetrators of genocide are once again trampling the dignity of their victims. Their attempts to rewrite history with bloodied hands must not be allowed to succeed.
We remember the Matabeleland genocide's gukurahundi atrocities not as a “moment of madness,” but as a calculated extermination of a people. And we will never accept healing without justice. Let them hear us loud and clear:
MTHWAKAZI REJECTS THE GENOCIDE INTERVIEWS.
We are the victims. We will not be silenced. And we will not be fooled.
Fikile is political commentator. fikile.ntolilo@gmail.com
Source - Fikile ka Malikongwa
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