Gukurahundi: Activists reject pardon claim

via Gukurahundi: Activists reject pardon claim – New Zimbabwe 27/08/2015

ACTIVISTS have rejected findings by a leading public policy analysis unit that people in Matebeleland North want past human rights abusers to be pardoned.

A September 2014 survey by Mass Public Opinion Institute (MPOI) sampled 2,400 people from all the country’s ten provinces where they were gauging people’s feelings on the political situation.

The survey, whose results were published only this week, found that the majority of Zimbabweans (64%) want perpetrators of past political crimes to account with Matebeleland North being an exception.

“While this was true across provinces, place of residence, gender, race education levels even employment status, the view was stronger among male Zimbabweans, those living in urban areas, those who have attained higher levels of education the employed and supporters of the MDC-T,” said MPOI.

Bulawayo province recorded the highest number of people who wished for the immediate prosecution of past political criminals (81%) followed by Mashonaland Central (79%), Masvingo (69%), Harare (66%), Manicaland (62%) with Matabeleland recording the lowest (37%).

But ZAPU spokesperson Njobisa Noku disputed part of the research results, particularly the Matabeleland North statistics.

Noku said given that they were the most affected by Gukurahundi atrocities, the people of Matabeleland were unlikely to recommend amnesty for the perpetrators of political crimes.

“Given this background, the research is not reflecting what is on the ground,” charged Noku.

“People of all the Matabeleland provinces what political criminals to be brought to book.

“Even the families of the Gukurahundi victims in these provinces including in the Midlands province are calling for the prosecution of those who killed their relatives not what this research is telling us.

“These people are also saying they will remain bitter until those who traumatised them either come to them and apologise or are prosecuted and jailed for the crimes they committed.”

US-based human rights researcher, Lameck Sengwayo, said the results were “suspicious”.

“First, I come from Matebeleland North, second, I was there recently to do my personal research on a more or less related issue and I can tell you that my findings don’t agree which what MPOI say they discovered.

“They (MPOI) may have spoken to people who may have sounded conciliatory but until we know if they spoke to people who are genuinely from the area it will be difficult to believe the findings,” said Sengwayo, a Phd student.

A senior journalist who worked at the Chronicle in the 1980s and is from the province agreed, saying researchers may have spoken to people who are not from the area.

He said: “There are many people especially along the Umguza area where MP Obert Mpofu lives who are not from Matebeleland.

“Most of them are even children and relatives of the Fifth Brigade killers and were brought in by Zanu PF.

“So, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the ones who claim that we don’t want justice.”

Over 20,000 civilians from Matabeleland and Midlands provinces were massacred by the Fifth Brigade in the mid-1980s.

President Mugabe has never apologised for the atrocities besides describing the era as a moment of madness.