The National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) on Monday apologised for the comments made by its commissioner-in-charge of communication Obert Gutu last week on Gukurahundi.
Gutu was quoted in the media saying Gukurahundi was a “small tiny fraction” of issues that the NPRC was dealing with.
His sentiments were widely condemned as insensitive and trivialising the massacre of an estimated 20 000 defenceless people in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces by the Zimbabwe National Army.
NPRC chairperson Justice Selo Masole Nare yesterday apologised to the nation for the comments. He said:
Following that statement, I had a meeting with the commissioners and I expressed my displeasure over the words that were used that Gukurahundi is a ‘small tiny fraction’ of the issues that are being dealt with by the commission.
In my view and in the view of the commission, those words ‘small tiny fraction of the issues’ were his sentiments.
The Commission’s view and my view is that Gukurahundi is a serious conflict that needs to be handled properly.
So, on behalf of the commission, I apologise for those sentiments and I apologise to the nation for the words.
The Gukurahundi issue has been dealt with as the number one conflict in particular in this region.
Justice Nare said the commission last week engaged historian Pathisa Nyathi to help with making commissioners understand the gravity of the Gukurahundi issue so that they do not go off-track.