The administration is encountering increasing pressure to halt the current Gukurahundi public inquiries, as different interested parties, such as civil organizations and political groups from Matabeleland, keep advocating for focus at both regional and global levels regarding this issue.
More than 10 political groups, including Zapu and Freedom Alliance, established a coalition to oppose the government-organized public hearings conducted by traditional leaders, arguing that there was insufficient transparency.
The public hearings are taking place out of the public eye and media attention, as political parties and community organizations have pointed out, revealing the insincerity in confronting the nation’s troubling history.
Reviewers have promised not to ‘clean up the procedure or participate in a ‘deeply flawed process that is openly deceitful.’
A human rights advocacy organization named Ibhetshu LikaZulu stated that the proceedings were “severely defective” and “a sorrowful distortion of fairness.”
The group’s secretary-general, Mbuso Fuzwayo, voiced serious worries about the procedure, stating that it lacked credibility, openness, and genuine involvement of the victims and survivors from the massacres of the 1980s.
“The process is inherently flawed as it is guided by the individuals responsible for the genocide,” stated Fuzwayo, referring to the ruling Zanu PF party, which led to the deaths of thousands of civilians in Matabeleland and the Midlands during the Gukurahundi massacres.
He mentioned that the reconciliation initiatives managed by the Office of the President and Cabinet, and carried out by local leaders, have excluded victims, overlooked past wrongs, and did not create secure, victim-focused spaces for sharing the truth.
Fuzwayo criticized what he called the detailed control of the project by the government, stating that it damages the perception of fairness.
“Leaders have been drawn into a political scheme, not a process of justice,” he stated.
The hand responsible for the atrocities is the same one setting the conditions for ‘reconciliation.’
The Zulu People also raised concerns about the absence of clarity in how statements are being gathered and how the final reports will be prepared or confirmed.
“Survivors are unaware of who is recording their suffering, or if their stories might be altered or completely suppressed,” he stated.
The group cautioned that the process is taking place within a setting of persistent fear, monitoring, and political suppression, which greatly hinders open and truthful involvement.
“This is not peace—it is propaganda,” he stated.
Claiming that survivors should be thankful for this procedure is not only offensive, but also retraumatizing.
The MRP leader, Mqondisi Moyo, stated that they are waiting for a reply from the United Nations after submitting a request to the international organization for assistance.
The MRP filed its request with the UN offices in Pretoria on July 4 this year.
“We informed them that we expect a reply within one to three months and we are looking forward to their response,” Moyo said to Southern Eye on Sunday.
Secondly, we have highlighted the growing issue of self-determination and the Gukurahundi genocide; we have also submitted a petition to the South African government regarding the ongoing harassment of our people living in South Africa.
Do you think there are several thousand people from Matabeleland and Midlands living in South Africa; while most don’t have families, but all these people are victims and survivors of the Gukurahundi genocide.
In a shared declaration, political groups from Matabeleland mentioned that they are also taking the issue to regional and global levels.
“We are establishing a coalition involving all stakeholders for the justice campaign regarding the Gukurahundi genocide…and we are calling on all progressive groups to participate in this honorable effort to address this Zimbabwean genocide,” they stated in a joint declaration.
This partnership will advocate at the local, national, regional, and global levels for an authentic, open, and fair procedure to tackle Gukurahundi and promote healing and national unity.
They stated: “Without seeming to assess victimhood and categorizing it as either high or low, we are firmly convinced that the government of Zimbabwe established a precedent following the tragic shooting of six innocent people on August 1, 2018, by assembling a distinguished team headed by President Kgalema Motlanthe to investigate what occurred.”
It is only reasonable to establish a commission, also headed by an external respected individual, regarding Gukurahundi.
Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).
