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Matabeleland still waiting for justice, says Sikhala

by Staff reporter
10 hrs ago | Views
The launch of opposition politician Job Sikhala's memoir, Footprints in the Chains, turned into a powerful platform for raw and impassioned calls for truth, justice, and national healing-particularly over the unresolved atrocities of Gukurahundi, Zimbabwe's darkest chapter of post-independence political violence.

Held on Friday in Bulawayo, the event drew a cross-section of politicians, civic activists, and community leaders, many of whom used the occasion to demand accountability and recognition for decades of state-sponsored repression.

Bulawayo Mayor David Coltart delivered a strikingly honest address, acknowledging the role of Zimbabwe's former white minority in laying the legislative and political foundation for repression that still haunts the country today.

"As I reflect on our nation's history, I recognise that much of the abuse inflicted on Job Sikhala and others stems from systems created by the white community," Coltart said. "The Law and Order Maintenance Act, media restrictions - these were tools of control crafted in the colonial era that remain embedded in today's governance."

Coltart called on white Zimbabweans to acknowledge their role in the historical machinery of oppression, which he said has been "poisoning" the country for generations.

Activist and event facilitator Nkomo centred his remarks on Gukurahundi, the 1980s genocide in which an estimated 20,000 civilians - mostly ethnic Ndebele - were killed by the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade under the orders of then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe.

"Our political parties have failed to hold ZANU PF accountable for Gukurahundi," Nkomo said. "We still don't know what happened to thousands who disappeared. Chiefs were used then, as they are now, to push government agendas and silence victims."

He denounced ongoing government-sponsored "forgiveness" ceremonies led by traditional leaders, saying they mock survivors by demanding reconciliation without truth-telling or justice.

"How are our mothers supposed to forgive when they were raped, when their children were buried in mass graves, and when those responsible still sit in government?" he asked. "The trauma is intergenerational."

In his remarks, Job Sikhala, who spent 595 days in pre-trial detention for allegedly inciting violence, aligned himself with victims of state brutality, both past and present.

"Forty-five years later, the people of Matabeleland still want to know why they were massacred," Sikhala said. "Justice has never been served. We must confront our past if we are to build a democratic future."

Sikhala pledged that in a new, democratic Zimbabwe, national holidays would be declared to honour victims of political violence. One such day, he said, would be January 3rd, to mark the beginning of the Gukurahundi killings.

The memoir launch, though focused on Sikhala's personal story of detention and resistance, served as a broader catalyst for public reflection and political challenge - and exposed the growing demand for truth-telling mechanisms in a country where impunity still dominates.

Observers say the event illustrated how Zimbabwe's unresolved history of violence continues to shape its present, and how genuine reconciliation cannot happen without acknowledgment, justice, and institutional reform.

As the country approaches another electoral cycle, Sikhala and his allies are now pushing for national dialogue on transitional justice, insisting that political violence - past or present - must no longer be swept under the carpet.

Source - Cite