President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s plans to have the remains of Gukurahundi victims exhumed and reburied expeditiously have drawn fury from different quarters.
This follows an announcement made by Justice permanent secretary Virginia Mabiza as reported by the State media over the weekend that Mnangagwa would soon preside over a meeting to prepare for the commencement of exhumations and reburials.
A Gwanda chief who spoke to NewsDay on condition of anonymity said:
This is death, therefore, it needs special treatment which needs no hurry. Why hurry now since 1983 to date? This is not a joke. We need strategic steps in all this. No hurry, we need serious people and honest engagement with the affected families taking the lead.
Meanwhile, Ibhetshu LikaZulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo said the exhumations and reburials must be done properly with the intention of bringing closure, healing and ultimately nation-building.
Fuzwayo added that someone has to take responsibility for what happened and these engagements spearheaded by the elite are a clear sign of disrespecting the dead and their families.
Human rights activist and political commentator, Effie Ncube said it should be the victims rather than the perpetrators should decide how the Gukurahundi genocide is resolved.