Opinion / Columnist
Genocide govt shifts gukurahundi probe to closed-door private testimonies
5 hrs ago | Views
The government has abruptly altered the investigative framework and methodology for the upcoming state-sponsored probe into the Gukurahundi genocide, replacing an open public testimonial approach with a closed-door private witness testimony process. This move has sparked widespread concern over transparency, potential intimidation, and the integrity of the truth-seeking exercise.
Set to commence on 26 June across Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North - the epicenters of the 1980s massacres - the investigation will now be conducted behind closed doors by traditional chiefs, marking a stark departure from the originally planned community hearings open to the public.
Deputy President of the Zimbabwe National Council of Chiefs Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira, who also presides over the Pan-African Parliament, announced the change, stating that victims will provide testimony privately before a panel of investigators. This method raises fears that witnesses will be vulnerable to official coercion, manipulation, and censorship.
Notably, the media has been barred from covering the proceedings, evoking memories of the Gukurahundi era when journalists were forbidden from reporting on the brutal campaign of violence carried out by the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade. While foreign correspondents exposed the atrocities then, many local journalists either stayed silent or became complicit by publishing partisan narratives that justified the massacres.
Chief Charumbira, speaking on behalf of the Zimbabwe National Council of Chiefs' president, Mtshane Khumalo, said the private testimonial process was now preferred over public hearings, which are traditionally inclusive, transparent, and designed to foster healing and reconciliation.
Truth and reconciliation commissions worldwide are typically structured to allow open testimonies from victims, perpetrators, and witnesses to acknowledge past atrocities, facilitate restorative justice, and promote national healing. Zimbabwe's path, however, remains fraught with political interference and limited openness.
Since the Gukurahundi massacres began in 1983, several attempts have been made to investigate the atrocities. The Chihambakwe Commission, set up in 1983 and chaired by Simplicius Chihambakwe, produced a damning report that was never released by either former president Robert Mugabe or his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa—both accused of orchestrating the campaign. Many implicated military and government officials remain in powerful positions today.
Human rights groups and experts argue that such hearings must be conducted by independent bodies free from government influence. Chiefs, reliant on state patronage and lacking investigative expertise, face questions over their ability to conduct a credible probe.
In the 1990s, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ) played a pivotal role in documenting Gukurahundi's horrors. Their 1997 report, Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace, detailed widespread abuses including torture, rape, killings, and disappearances. Despite the report's revelations, perpetrators remain unaccountable, and the wounds remain unhealed.
Academic Jocelyn Alexander of the University of Oxford describes the issue as a “noisy silence,” where conflicting narratives coexist—official denial versus silenced survivor memories—creating a tense and unresolved national trauma.
The 2013 establishment of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, and its 2018 mandate to address past human rights violations, offered renewed hope, but tangible outcomes remain elusive. Civic initiatives, such as the 2019 Matabeleland Collective engagement with President Mnangagwa, collapsed amid internal conflicts.
In 2023, President Mnangagwa empowered traditional chiefs to investigate Gukurahundi, but the absence of judicial authority and robust mechanisms for justice casts doubt on the process. Analysts warn that without independence, transparency, and victim-centered approaches, the exercise risks being a state-controlled whitewash.
The move to closed-door hearings without media oversight fuels fears of witness intimidation and manipulation. If testimonies are censored or coerced to fit a government narrative, the process will fail to deliver justice or reconciliation.
Experts emphasize that truth commissions must be transparent and accountable, with a mandate to hold perpetrators responsible, provide reparations to victims, and promote genuine national healing.
As the chiefs' investigation begins, the nation watches closely, wary that this could be yet another missed opportunity to confront one of Zimbabwe's darkest chapters honestly and fairly—ensuring such atrocities are never repeated.
Set to commence on 26 June across Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North - the epicenters of the 1980s massacres - the investigation will now be conducted behind closed doors by traditional chiefs, marking a stark departure from the originally planned community hearings open to the public.
Deputy President of the Zimbabwe National Council of Chiefs Senator Chief Fortune Charumbira, who also presides over the Pan-African Parliament, announced the change, stating that victims will provide testimony privately before a panel of investigators. This method raises fears that witnesses will be vulnerable to official coercion, manipulation, and censorship.
Notably, the media has been barred from covering the proceedings, evoking memories of the Gukurahundi era when journalists were forbidden from reporting on the brutal campaign of violence carried out by the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade. While foreign correspondents exposed the atrocities then, many local journalists either stayed silent or became complicit by publishing partisan narratives that justified the massacres.
Chief Charumbira, speaking on behalf of the Zimbabwe National Council of Chiefs' president, Mtshane Khumalo, said the private testimonial process was now preferred over public hearings, which are traditionally inclusive, transparent, and designed to foster healing and reconciliation.
Truth and reconciliation commissions worldwide are typically structured to allow open testimonies from victims, perpetrators, and witnesses to acknowledge past atrocities, facilitate restorative justice, and promote national healing. Zimbabwe's path, however, remains fraught with political interference and limited openness.
Since the Gukurahundi massacres began in 1983, several attempts have been made to investigate the atrocities. The Chihambakwe Commission, set up in 1983 and chaired by Simplicius Chihambakwe, produced a damning report that was never released by either former president Robert Mugabe or his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa—both accused of orchestrating the campaign. Many implicated military and government officials remain in powerful positions today.
Human rights groups and experts argue that such hearings must be conducted by independent bodies free from government influence. Chiefs, reliant on state patronage and lacking investigative expertise, face questions over their ability to conduct a credible probe.
In the 1990s, the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe (CCJPZ) played a pivotal role in documenting Gukurahundi's horrors. Their 1997 report, Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace, detailed widespread abuses including torture, rape, killings, and disappearances. Despite the report's revelations, perpetrators remain unaccountable, and the wounds remain unhealed.
Academic Jocelyn Alexander of the University of Oxford describes the issue as a “noisy silence,” where conflicting narratives coexist—official denial versus silenced survivor memories—creating a tense and unresolved national trauma.
The 2013 establishment of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, and its 2018 mandate to address past human rights violations, offered renewed hope, but tangible outcomes remain elusive. Civic initiatives, such as the 2019 Matabeleland Collective engagement with President Mnangagwa, collapsed amid internal conflicts.
In 2023, President Mnangagwa empowered traditional chiefs to investigate Gukurahundi, but the absence of judicial authority and robust mechanisms for justice casts doubt on the process. Analysts warn that without independence, transparency, and victim-centered approaches, the exercise risks being a state-controlled whitewash.
The move to closed-door hearings without media oversight fuels fears of witness intimidation and manipulation. If testimonies are censored or coerced to fit a government narrative, the process will fail to deliver justice or reconciliation.
Experts emphasize that truth commissions must be transparent and accountable, with a mandate to hold perpetrators responsible, provide reparations to victims, and promote genuine national healing.
As the chiefs' investigation begins, the nation watches closely, wary that this could be yet another missed opportunity to confront one of Zimbabwe's darkest chapters honestly and fairly—ensuring such atrocities are never repeated.
Source - online
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