Loyiko's Matebele Immigration Protection Letter to Malusi Gigaba

4556 Griffith Mxenge Str
Samora Machel
7785 NPO
no: 096-615
South Africa

Hon. Knowledge Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba, MP.
Minister of Home Affairs
Department of Home Affairs
Republic of South Africa.
 
19th September 2016
 
Dear Minister Knowledge Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba, MP

Ref: Request for Special Immigration Protection Status for people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi).

This letter constitutes a formal request to the ANC government of the Republic of South Africa through your Ministry to take immediate steps towards giving the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) , currently residing in South Africa, a "Special Immigration Protection Status" and regularise their stay in our Republic.

Hon. Minister it is good for us to state clearly that the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) are an Inter-cultural Society made of 16 multi-ethnic nationalities namely Aba-Thwa-San or Basarwa, Asians, Black immigrants, Coloureds, Kalanga, Karanga of Matebeleland, Nambya, Nguni, Shangwe, Sotho, Tswana, Swazi, Venda, White Matebele and Xhosa.

Hon. Minister the strong grounds for the request for "Special Immigration Status" are on the basis of the following committed by the sectarian state of Zimbabwe against the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) since 1980 up to the present day.

1. The violation of the following articles of the 1992 UN Declaration on Rights of Persons Belonging to National, or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

Article 1

i. States shall protect the existence and the national or ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic identity of minorities within their respective territories and shall encourage conditions for the promotion of that identity.

ii. States shall adopt appropriate legislative and other measures to achieve those ends.

Article 2

i. Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities (hereinafter referred to as persons belonging to minorities) have the right to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion, and to use their own language, in private and in public, freely and without interference or any form of discrimination.

ii. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in cultural, religious, social, economic and public life.

iii. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to participate effectively in decisions on the national and, where appropriate, regional level concerning the minority to which they belong or the regions in which they live, in a manner not incompatible with national legislation.

iv. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to establish and maintain their own associations.

v. Persons belonging to minorities have the right to establish and maintain, without any discrimination, free and peaceful contacts with other members of their group and with persons belonging to other minorities, as well as contacts across frontiers with citizens of other States to whom they are related by national or ethnic, religious or linguistic ties.

Article 3

i. Persons belonging to minorities may exercise their rights, including those set forth in the present Declaration, individually as well as in community with other members of their group, without any discrimination.

ii. No disadvantage shall result for any person belonging to a minority as the consequence of the exercise or non-exercise of the rights set forth in the present Declaration.

Article 4

i. States shall take measures where required to ensure that persons belonging to minorities may exercise fully and effectively all their human rights and fundamental freedoms without any discrimination and in full equality before the law.

ii. States shall take measures to create favourable conditions to enable persons belonging to minorities to express their characteristics and to develop their culture, language, religion, traditions and customs, except where specific practices are in violation of national law and contrary to international standards.

iii. States should take appropriate measures so that, wherever possible, persons belonging to minorities may have adequate opportunities to learn their mother tongue or to have instruction in their mother tongue.

iv. States should, where appropriate, take measures in the field of education, in order to encourage knowledge of the history, traditions, language and culture of the minorities existing within their territory. Persons belonging to minorities should have adequate opportunities to gain knowledge of the society as a whole.

v. States should consider appropriate measures so that persons belonging to minorities may participate fully in the economic progress and development in their country.

Article 5

i. National policies and programmes shall be planned and implemented with due regard for the legitimate interests of persons belonging to minorities.

ii. Programmes of cooperation and assistance among States should be planned and implemented with due regard for the legitimate interests of persons belonging to minorities.

Article 6

States should cooperate on questions relating to persons belonging to minorities, inter alia, exchanging information and experiences, in order to promote mutual understanding and confidence.

2. Additionally, since 1980, the sectarian Zimbabwean State under the leadership of R. G. Mugabe has been in violation of all the articles (Article 1 to 30) of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, of which we have limited space to itemize them all in this letter.

3. Cognizant of the above mentioned flagrant violation of the Rights of the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) by the sectarian state of Zimbabwe, the following are some of the specifications for the above charge sheet.

Specification 1: That the sectarian government of Zimbabwe under the leadership of Robert Gabriel Mugabe committed Gukurahundi Genocide against the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) between 1983 to 1987 that led to deaths of between 50 000 to 100 000 Matebeles and the displacement of millions to neighbouring countries including the Republic of South Africa and to Western Countries. Thousands of orphans were left with no one to fund their education as bread winners were killed with impunity.

In February 2012, Genocide Watch, an international body that "exists to predict, prevent, stop and punish genocide and other forms of mass murder" declared Gukurahundi a Genocide and a source of "Polarization" between the Shona and people from Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi).

Not forgetting and being mindful of the fact that the Gukurahundi Genocide included the deliberate and calculated assassination of our ZIPRA comrades (Gen. Lookout Masuku and others) and Zapu leaders (Njini Ntutha, Sydney Malunga and others) as well as uMkhonto weSizwe comrades that were based in Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) at the time and some other parts of Zimbabwe. Due to these shared and strong historical liberation links, we therefore have a moral and ethical duty to protect the vulnerable people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi).

Specification 2: That the sectarian government of Zimbabwe, through its planned and calculated 1979 Grand Plan and its Revised Version (attached), has deliberately violated the ethnic, cultural and linguistic identity of the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi)by denying them conditions that can enable them to promote and develop their culture and language.

 Since 1980, there has been a calculated massive deployment of government employees in Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) from the majority Shona ethnic group in all state Institutions of Zimbabwe and other private entities. This has driven the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) out of their Homeland to seek sanctuary in this country. They need a reprieve and protection from Zimbabwe's calculated Genocide and marginalization programme in order for them to have opportunities to rebuild their lives, families and their communities in South Africa and in Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) from years of Zimbabwean state brutality, repression and persecution.

Specification 3: Linguistically, children at a tender age at primary school level are being denied opportunities to learn at school from teachers that are able and competent to use "instruction of their mother tongue" in schools. Since 1980 there has been a deliberate programme of massive deployment to primary schools of teachers of Shona origin who are not competent or proficient in local Matebeleland and Midlands's languages or have never been tested for competency or proficiency in local languages to teach in Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) schools. This has resulted in alarming poor school pass rates in Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) and an inability of the children of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) to access further education and tertiary institutions of learning. These lost opportunities can be availed to the vulnerable people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) in South Africa once their status is regularised.

 Any protest by the vulnerable people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) against the above immoral behaviours of language and cultural genocide by the sectarian state of Zimbabwe is met with ruthless state aggression and repression using state machinery to cow them into submission.

Specification 4: Marginalization in all sectors of employment and land redistribution has driven a large number of the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) out of their Homeland to this country in search of employment opportunities since 1980. Land is confiscated from white farmers and locals and given to outsiders from Matebeleland and Midlands. Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) people are therefore an endangered and vulnerable people seeking refuge to survive in South Africa. A Special Immigration Protection Status will give the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) an opportunity to work and rebuild their shattered lives in this country as well as develop their areas in their Homeland.

Hon Minister, the indicated above specifications, are by no means exhaustive. Genocide and marginalization of the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi)over years by the sectarian state of Zimbabwe has caused and continue to cause long term social, health, cultural and economic damage to the people of Matebeleland and Midlands. It will take the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) years to recover and rebuild their lives and their Homeland. We need to support them in this journey of rebuilding their shattered lives and shattered Homeland.

Hon. Minister, we therefore believe that the need for the protection of the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) by our government has been established beyond reasonable doubt in this letter. They are living without their fundamental human rights both in Zimbabwe and South Africa as well as in other neighbouring African states. This is unacceptable in a modern day world that we live in. We therefore call upon the South African government, through your Ministry, to intervene immediately and protect the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) from all forms of harm here in South Africa as well as pressurize the sectarian Zimbabwean government and state to abandon its Genocidal programmes against the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) and afford them their freedom and other fundamental human rights.

We also call upon the South African government through your Ministry once again to make Gukurahundi Genocide Denialism a prosecutable offence in South Africa. We believe that it must be made a criminal offence for anyone to deny that Gukurahundi was a Genocide and remains a Genocide. But most importantly we call upon the South African government to assist in the arrest of Gukurahundi Genocide perpetrators and hand them to the International Criminal Court (ICC) at The Hague, Netherlands to be tapped on their criminal shoulders by the long arm of the law for their crimes against humanity.

While we call upon the South African government to act on the above, Hon. Minister, you will be pleased to know that as Siphesakhe Youth Organization and supported by the general citizenry of South Africa and the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi), have come up with a play called Loyiko to expose the Truth about the Gukurahundi Genocide and to expose the continued injustices being committed against the people of Matebeleland and Midlands (Mthwakazi) today by the sectarian state of Zimbabwe under the leadership of Robert Gabriel Mugabe. Matebeleland needs freedom as well as Truth, Justice, Reparations and Healing for the Gukurahundi Genocide. We, as Young South Africans, share their trials and tribulations. We stand shoulder to shoulder with them in their hour of need and we call upon our government to do the same and intervene.

Thank you for taking time to consider this request Hon. Minister Knowledge Malusi Nkanyezi Gigaba. We would also ask your good and kind self, Hon. Minister, to kindly respond to our request and indicate the steps our government will take to address the plight of the people of Matebeleland and Midlands.

Yours Sincerely

Siphesakhe Youth Organization