Source: Analysts call for independent Gukurahundi commission – The Southern Eye
POLITICAL analysts have called for an independent commission to lead the Gukurahundi healing process, saying the proposal made by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to put chiefs at the forefront of the process is flawed.
Mnangagwa met chiefs in Bulawayo last week where he launched a Gukurahundi manual to guide and initiate the healing process, saying the procedure will be led by traditional leaders.
Mnangagwa pleaded with communities affected by the Gukurahundi atrocities to co-operate with the chiefs.
Analysts, however, said the process must be inclusive if the Gukurahundi genocide of the 1980s, which left an estimated 20 000 unarmed civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces dead, is to be resolved.
“There should be an independent tribunal to look into this, and ideally the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) must lead the process. However, it’s quite clear that the NPRC will not be able to effectively do so. There is nothing wrong with the chiefs leading the process as long there is a legal instrument in place to ensure that the process will be independent, credible and separate from the person of the President and the Executive,” political analyst Dumisani Nkomo said.
Rejoice Ngwenya, another political analyst said: “Firstly, it’s not chiefs who are aggrieved. Mnangagwa was at the centre of Gukurahundi. He knows the victims. He knows the perpetrators. If he truly wants to bring closure, he should call all victims, survivors, dependants, their relatives and tell them that he is sorry. He should ask them what they want and compensate them and the case will be closed. Running to chiefs is not going to help his case.”
Political commentator Vivid Gwede said: “It would make much sense to let an independent commission do the job in order to reveal the truth of what happened and find justice and closure for the victims. There is no wider engagement of the concerned public in Matabeleland in the current process, which calls into question its transparency and inclusiveness.”
Academic Nhamo Mhiripiri said no amount of intervention from both the State and independent commissions will yield positive results.
“Whatever structure is put for the conflict resolution process in Zimbabwe will suffer due to perceptions from extremist activists. The so-called independent commission suggested by others will not work too. My plea is to give Zimbabweans a chance, especially those in the Midlands and Matabeleland rural areas, who were the most affected by the Gukurahundi crisis,” Mhiripiri said, adding that they should be allowed to speak for themselves.
In 1983, then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe set up the Chihambakwe Commission of Inquiry into the massacres but its findings are yet to be made public.
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COMMENTS
Make public the findings of the Chihambakwe and Catholic for Justice &Peace Commissions first and proceed later…
“POLITICAL analysts have called for an independent commission to lead the Gukurahundi healing process, saying the proposal made by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to put chiefs at the forefront of the process is flawed.”
There is no need for a commission. The Catholic Justice and Peace wrote a report on the Gukurahundi which Mugabe rejected. All of us who lived in Bulawayo at the time and experienced this horror can write a report. I saw the military trucks transporting the 5th Brigade to Bulawayo’s western suburbs. I lived close to the western suburbs. I heard the people screaming in terror as they were being slaughtered. Helicopter were flying abound our area warning us to stay indoors and not venture into the Western suburbs. Need I say more?? I was there. We do not need a commission set up by Emmerson Mnangagwa and ZANUPF to whitewash this horrific incident for us. We shall never forget it. I WAS THERE.
Mukanya and Jan, you well know that no legitimate investigation/report will EVER be allowed in our lifetimes, because the names “Mugabe” and “Mnangagwa” and other notables, and their direct involvement in the terror, could not be avoided. Perhaps later, after the uprising, and ZANUPF becomes only a memory. In the meanwhile, written accounts of first-hand witnesses and survivors needs to be collected, compiled, and protected so the truth can be known by future generations yet unborn.
Fallenz, we all know that Mnangagwa does not want the truth to come out. Mnangagwa was the chief architect of Gukurahundi. He proposed the idea to Mugabe. Not that Mugabe needed to be persuade to engage in this evil. Mugabe welcomed Gukurahundi. I lived in Bulawayo in 1982. I heard the military trucks driving past my residence. It was the middle of the night. I got out of bed and peeped through the curtains. I saw the 5th Brigade sitting in those trucks. It is a sight I will never forget. I heard the screams of terror. The grounds of my house bordered the Western suburbs. I WAS THERE. I tell people about Gukurahundi, and i will continue to tell the truth about it until the day I die. I have also told my international friends about it. I am an eye witness to the events of Gukurahundi. My friend Sibongile lost her entire family. They were massacred by Mnangagwa, Mugabe , ZANUPF and the 5th Brigade. I WAS THERE. I SAW THE EVIL RESULTS OF Gukurahundi. Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa is responsible for Gukurahundi.