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Former Vice President Kembo Mohadi has announced that the return of properties belonging to ZAU and the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA) is imminent. These properties were seized by the government in the early 1980s, alleging the presence of arms caches, which tragically led to the Gukurahundi mass killings.
ZAPU and ZIPRA have persistently demanded the release of their properties, including farms and buildings. Mohadi who is the second secretary of ZANU PF, announced during a campaign rally in Luveve, Bulawayo that the government is currently in the final stages of gathering the necessary information and documentation required for the return of these properties. He said: 
<blockquote>
Government is in the process of finalising some of the information and documentation needed before handing the properties.
</blockquote>
Previously, the government had refused to comply, citing the Unity Accord of November 22, 1987, when PF ZAPU joined ZANU PF. However, in 2008, ZAPU withdrew from the Unity Accord, accusing ZANU PF of insincerity.
Although former Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko had promised to facilitate the return of the seized properties, he left office before fulfilling that commitment. Among the properties listed by ZAPU are farms, hotels, and entertainment facilities.
Mohadi expressed confidence in ZANU PF’s prospects of winning the upcoming August 23 elections, suggesting that Zimbabweans abroad would be enticed to return home once the country has undergone reconstruction.
Exiled former ZANU PF Political Commissar, Saviour Kasukuwere, has asserted that Kembo Mohadi, has been lying to the general populace. Kasukuwere expressed his disapproval, stating:
<blockquote>
Mohadi don’t lie to the people, for how long have you been saying the same promise. because we’re approaching elections now you have started your nonsense.
</blockquote>
Zenzele Ndebele, a journalist based in Bulawayo, reports that in 2000 following the passing of former Vice President Joshua Nkomo, Joseph Musika facilitated the “handover” of ZPRA properties back to ZPRA. However, it was revealed two days later that these properties had been subsequently sold to various individuals.
Given the circumstances described, the specific number of properties that still exist remains uncertain. However, Ndebele suggests that there may be some properties that are still in existence, such as Nijo Farm and a few houses located in Harare.
<h3><a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h3>

Pindula News

Former VP Mohadi Says Return Of ZAPU And ZIPRA Properties Is Imminent

Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) Mqondisi Moyo has criticised former cabinet minister Saviour Kasukuwere following his promise to have a US$1 billion budget for Gukurahundi.
Moyo said Kasukuwere must give that money to people from Mashonaland Province and leave Matabeleland people alone. <a href="https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-233147.html">Bulawayo24</a> quoted Moyo as saying:
<blockquote>
It is disheartening to learn that Mashonaland people think that they can take us for a ride. They reduce us to cry babies who are driven to sleep by a lullaby.
They think we are like stupid fish who can be lured by dangling a lifeless object as bait.
Kasukuwere is typical of Mashonaland folks who daydream of riding on our backs.
He is dangling US$1 billion, dubbing it as Gukurahundi Compensation Fund. Stupid! Who said we want money as compensation?
Did he, through his parents and Shona relatives murder our people so they could make such a foolish monetary promise?
Does he think that the almost 40 000 souls of Mthwakazi people who perished in the hands of the Fifth Brigade can be redeemed by money and the so-called development projects?
</blockquote>
Moyo added that people from Matabeleland are treated as second-class citizens in their own land. He said:
<blockquote>
You cannot talk of monetary compensation when the Genocide is still on. The Shona language that was spoken by the members of the fifth brigade, CIOs, and members of the Police Intelligence Services, continues to be the suppressive and oppressive language against our people.
We are being arrested by Shona police, the magistrate courts and the Bulawayo High Court is presided over by the Shona magistrates and Judges, the prison officers are Shonas.
If to you all this is not Gukurahundi Genocide in another form then I need to be examined mentally.
Remember your rule book which is the Shona Grandplan plan and its review 14-page document clearly states that in all the parts of Mthwakazi and Zimbabwe Shona is to be the official Language.
It clearly states that all government offices and departments in Mthwakazi should be manned by Shona people.
All the 11 Shona presidential Candidates for 23 August 2023 are the result of the Gukurahundi Genocide you claim you want to compensate for.
</blockquote>
Meanwhile, High Court judge Justice David Mangota on Wednesday, 12 July nullified Kasukuwere’s nomination as a presidential candidate.
The court said Kasukuwere was out of the country for over 18 months and therefore ceased to be a registered voter.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Mthwakazi Activist Says Kasukuwere Should Keep "Gukurahundi US$1 Billion Budget" For Shona People

The leader of the United African National Council (UANC), <a href="https://pindula.co.zw/Gwinyai_Henry_Muzorewa">Gwinyai Muzorewa</a>, says he will deliver justice for Gukurahundi victims if he is elected the President of Zimbabwe in upcoming elections.
Gukurahundi is a term used for the killing of an estimated 20 000 people from the Ndebele ethnic group by the North Korean-trained 5th Brigade, an elite regiment of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, in Matabeleland and Midlands in the 1980s.
Addressing members of the media at a press briefing in Bulawayo on Friday, Muzorewa said the government should be able to provide financial compensation to the victims of Gukurahundi. <a href="https://cite.org.zw/aspiring-president-muzorewa-promises-justice-for-gukurahundi-victims/">CITE</a> quoted Muzorewa as saying:
<blockquote>
It is a pity that after 1980, the Zimbabwean government started to victimise its own people.
It pains my heart but that is the reality, that is what happened. It is not a rumor nor is it gossip.
What I believe that our party will do to make a difference is we will not continue to support the perpetrators.
What I would encourage people to do is to continue to look at other types of leadership.
Our party is committed to making a difference, not by bringing decisions from outside but by asking the affected people of Matabeleland to make decisions and recommendations about what they need.
After all, they are the ones who were hurt, you cannot expect the person who slapped you on one cheek to come and make you feel better.
If you are the one who hurt me, leave me alone. I must look for someone who’s going to be able to heal.
We need people in leadership positions from Matabeleland to hold influential offices so that, because they are the ones who were hurt, they can be able to put policies that make sense for the affected people.
The government should be able to compensate these people financially, emotionally and otherwise.
Apologising alone will never be enough. After apologizing, we need to begin the healing process.
The healing process is not forced. What heals is the spirit of humanity among us.
</blockquote>
Muzorewa is a younger brother to the late former Zimbabwe-Rhodesia Prime Minister Bishop Abel Muzorewa who led the country between 1978 and 1979.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Muzorewa Promises To Deliver Justice For Gukurahundi Victims

Norton MP, Temba Mliswa (Independent), was on Tuesday ejected from Parliament after he accused ZANU PF of committing atrocities.
Debating the Patriotic Bill in the National Assembly, Mliswa said ZANU PF killed thousands of people in Midlands and Matabeleland provinces in the 1980s Gukurahundi killings.
He said ZANLA and ZIPRA comrades went to war to liberate the country, therefore no one was qualified to call another a nationalist or a patriot.
Mliswa criticised ZANU PF for pushing for the enactment of the Patriotic Act saying the ruling party was “deranged”. Said Mliswa:
<blockquote>
The only thing ZANU PF is known for is massacre. Gukurahundi, it did it. There must be a Commission of Inquiry to deal with ZANU PF people who led the killings.
</blockquote>
Human rights defenders and opposition political parties have warned that the Patriotic Bill will threaten freedom of speech in Zimbabwe if passed into law. Said Mliswa:
<blockquote>
You cannot kill other people in a country. Did you not hear of Gukurahundi? Where are those people who spearheaded Gukurahundi?
Are they nationalistic, are they patriotic? They went and killed the people who were patriotic and nationalists.
Gukurahundi is a fact. Let it not pain you because you were probably not part of the struggle. This is emotional…
</blockquote>
Acting National Assembly Speaker Tatenda Mavetera accused Mliswa of using offensive language against ZANU PF, and ejected him from the august house. She said:
<blockquote>
Hon. Mliswa, we have got different political parties in this house and for you to come and accuse another political party and be offensive; is very disrespectful. Order, can you leave the House Hon. Mliswa, leave the House!
</blockquote>
Mliswa protested for being forced to leave the house for mentioning the Gukurahundi issue. He said:
<blockquote>
But you cannot kick me out. Did Gukurahundi not happen under Zanu PF? So, why remove me from the house for telling the truth?
You are kicking me out of the house for bringing up the issue of Gukurahundi, are you serious about that?
</blockquote>
Gukurahundi is a term used to refer to disturbances in Matabeleland and Midlands in the 1980s which resulted in the death of an estimated 20 000 Ndebele people.
It was carried out by the North Korean-trained 5th Brigade which was an elite regiment of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
Gukurahundi is derived from a Shona language term that loosely translates to “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains”.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Mliswa Ejected From Parliament Over Gukurahundi Remarks

Zimbabwe has committed to cooperating in bringing to justice the perpetrators of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.
The Rwandan Genocide is one of the most notorious modern genocides which occurred between April and July 1994.
Almost one million ethnic Tutsi and moderate Hutu were killed as the international community and UN peacekeepers stood by.
Zimbabwe’s acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Amon Murwira, said there cannot be justice and lasting peace without full accountability. <a href="https://www.newtimes.co.rw/article/6665/news/kwibuka/zimbabwe-commits-to-bring-perpetrators-of-1994-genocide-against-the-tutsi-to-justice">The New Times</a> quoted Murwira as saying:
<blockquote>
The primary responsibility to prevent and stop genocide lies with all of us.
On that note let me reaffirm Zimbabwe’s commitment to providing support to all international and continental efforts to bring to book those responsible for genocide in Rwanda and elsewhere.
We believe there cannot be justice and lasting peace without full accountability.
</blockquote>
Murwira was addressing Rwandans living in Zimbabwe, diplomats accredited to Zimbabwe, the business community and friends of Rwanda.
Last year, <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/zimbabwe-denies-hiding-rwandese-genocidaire-protais-mpiranya-full-statement/">Zimbabwe denied that it had harboured the most wanted Rwandese fugitive, Protais Mpiranya</a>, whose remains were found in Zimbabwe under the alias Ndume Sambao.
While Murwira committed Zimbabwe to bring to justice the perpetrators of the Rwanda Genocide, the Government of Zimbabwe is yet to bring to justice those responsible for the Gukurahundi killings in the 1980s.
Moreover, the findings of the Chihambakwe Commission of Inquiry, which was set up by the government to investigate Gkurahundi, were never made public.
The Government has also failed to bring to account those responsible for the 01 August 2018 killings as recommended by the Motlanthe Commission.
More: <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Zimbabwe Commits To Bring Perpetrators Of 1994 Rwandan Genocide To Justice

Nelson Chamisa who leads the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party has said there can never be true unity in Zimbabwe without true dialogue.
He made the remarks in commemoration of Unity Day celebrated annually on the 22nd of December.
In a Twitter post seen by Pindula News, Chamisa, a former Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services said Zimbabweans need each other. He said:
<blockquote>
<h2>MAKING ZIMBABWE A WINNING NATION..</h2>
We will unite all Zimbabweans across politics, race &amp;tribe. Unity wins peace &amp;prosperity for nations. Unity thrives nations. There can never be true unity without true dialogue &amp;love. We need each other. Unity is good for us all &amp;for a thriving economy.
</blockquote>
Unity Day is a holiday in Zimbabwe that is celebrated in Zimbabwe on 22 December to mark the anniversary of the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Unity_Accord" title="Unity Accord">Unity Accord</a>, an agreement signed between <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/index.php?title=Zanu&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" title="Zanu (page does not exist)">ZANU</a> and <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/index.php?title=Zapu&amp;action=edit&amp;redlink=1" title="Zapu (page does not exist)">ZAPU</a> in 1987 to officially put an end to <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Gukurahundi">Gukurahundi</a> in <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Matabeleland" title="Matabeleland">Matabeleland</a> and Midlands.
Gukurahundi, as it is commonly known, was an operation that was allegedly carried out by Mugabe’s government to track down former ZIPRA combatants who deserted Zimbabwe’s integrated military with weapons in protest over lack of equal treatment with those who waged the war under Mugabe’s ZANLA.
It is estimated that 20 000 civilians died at the hands of the Zimbabwe military during the dark period.
Civic society groups and political parties Thursday criticised the government for failing to acknowledge post-independence atrocities such as Gukurahundi and election-related killings.
Since 2018, Chamisa has been refusing dialogue with president Emmerson Mnangagwa or to join the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) forum saying there was no genuine dialogue that would come out of the engagements.
Political analysts have been calling for dialogue saying it could help in the resolution of the economic, humanitarian and political crises in the southern African country.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

"There Can Never Be True Unity Without True Dialogue" - Chamisa

Police in Bulawayo broke a march organised Thursday by local pressure group Ibhetshu Likazulu in memory of <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Gukurahundi">Operation Gukurahundi</a> victims killed in the early 1980s.
According to media reports from Bulawayo, three activists were arrested during the foiled commemorations.
The three are:
<blockquote>
i). Ibhetshu LikaZulu’s vice chairperson, Thamsanqa Ncube 
ii). Ibhetshu LikaZulu member, Melusi ‘Coltart’ Nyathi, and 
iii). Samukeliso Tshuma, leader of The Girls Table organisation.
</blockquote>
Narrating the incident Thursday, Ibhetshu Likazulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo said some passers-by were also harassed by police during the incident. Fuzwayo said:
<blockquote>
As an organisation, we were intending to march in memory of those who survived and those who were killed, raped but the government of Zimbabwe through the Zimbabwe Republic Police stopped us and sadly a lot of people who were passing by and those within the vicinity of the Joshua Nkomo statue were harassed.
</blockquote>
The pressure group has, in the years, timed its Gukurahundi commemorations for <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Unity_Day">Unity Day</a>, celebrated every December 22.
Unity Day was declared when the late Nkomo and late President Robert Mugabe’s <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Unity_Accord">rival parties merged</a> in what ended the Gukurahundi massacres waged by the country’s security forces against civilians who were presumed to be sympathetic to Nkomo’s PF Zapu.
Gukurahundi, as it is commonly known, was an operation that was allegedly carried out by Mugabe’s government to track down former ZIPRA combatants who deserted Zimbabwe’s integrated military with weapons in protest over lack of equal treatment with those who waged the war under Mugabe’s ZANLA.
It is estimated that 20 000 civilians died at the hands of the Zimbabwe military during the dark period.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Police Block March Organised In Memory Of Gukurahundi Victims

Traditional leaders reportedly blocked efforts by a government official to use a “less problematic” name for the 1980s massacres in Matabeleland and Midlands Provinces commonly referred to as <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Gukurahundi">Gukurahundi.</a>
The suggestion was made at the Bulawayo State House handover of a chiefs’ manual on handling the matter, according to Chief Khulumani Mathema of Gwanda.
Mathema made the claims while addressing delegates at the launch of the Centre for Innovation and Technology’s (CITE) “We Will Crush Them,” a documentary on the massacres that claimed some 20 000 mainly Ndebele-speaking people in the southern part of Zimbabwe.
Mathema said a name which he was not at liberty to reveal, was even suggested to replace Gukurahundi. He is quoted by <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/chiefs-resist-renaming-of-gukurahundi-as-debate-on-mugabe-led-80s-genocide-escalates/">NewZimbabwe</a> as saying:
<blockquote>
There was a situation we had in the meeting, we were told to change the name Gukurahundi.
It was supposed to be given another name. As Matabeleland chiefs we rejected it.
Someone provided another name; this divided the house and the rest of us Chiefs rejected that. It is still Gukurahundi.
</blockquote>
<h2>Some Context:</h2>
In the aftermath of Independence, the late former President Robert Mugabe deployed the North Korean-trained 5th brigade into Midlands and Matabeleland “to deal” with “ZAPU dissidents”.
Approximately 20 000 people were killed in the process.
President <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Emmerson_Mnangagwa">Emmerson Mnangagwa</a> was the Minister of State Security, his deputy <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Constantino_Chiwenga">Constantino Chiwenga</a> was a commander at Bulawayo’s 1 Brigade while the late national hero <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Perrance_Shiri">Perrance Shiri</a> was the commander of the 5th brigade during the period.
Mnangagwa’s new dispensation has considerably opened up space for discussion on the matter, but, the issue is still delicate.
Victims have been demanding compensation and State security agents sometimes harass those doing so while some pressure groups and academics have accused Mnangagwa of being insincere in his approach.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h2>

Traditional Leaders Block Efforts To Rename Gukurahundi

Human rights law expert, Siphosami Malunga, says chiefs alone cannot resolve the Gukurahundi issue due to its complexity.
This comes after President Emmerson Mnangagwa entrusted chiefs with the responsibility of resolving the issue which has remained unresolved for over 30 years.
Malunga, who is a programmes director for the Open Society Africa (OSA) made the remarks while delivering a public lecture on Gukurahundi in Bulawayo on Wednesday.
The lecture, titled: “Whose Truth, Whose Justice?” was part of the ongoing Asakhe Film Festival organised by the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE). Said Malunga:
<blockquote>
My initial criticism when the decision was made to ask the chiefs to deal with it was ‘what are they dealing with?’ ‘What are they being asked to deal with?’.
That was my question. ‘What are they being asked to address, what are they being asked to resolve?
Are we resolving the issue of people who quarrel, which chiefs do all the time in the village?
There are things that chiefs can’t resolve. Criminal cases, chiefs do not have jurisdiction over right?
A chief cannot resolve a murder. He has got no jurisdiction over it because there are laws that say certain things that happen must be processed in a particular way.
</blockquote>
Malunga expressed doubt in the traditional leaders’ capacity to resolve the Gukurahundi issue saying it’s very difficult to deal with atrocities. | <a href="https://cite.org.zw/chiefs-alone-cannot-resolve-gukurahundi%ef%bf%bc/">CITE</a>

Chiefs Alone Have No Capacity To Resolve Gukurahundi - Malunga

Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) leader Mqondisi Moyo has castigated the language used in crafting the chiefs’ manual on Gukurahundi Community Engagement Processes claiming that the words used downplayed victims’ experiences of the mass killings.
The chiefs created Volume 2 of the Manual on Community Engagement Processes to use as guidance when engaging Gukurahundi victims.
Speaking to <a href="https://cite.org.zw/mrp-tears-into-chiefs-gukurahundi-manual/">CITE</a>, Moyo questioned why the manual seen in Section 17 dealing with “Groups requiring special attention” used the phrase “alleged” in dealing with their comments.
He argued that the use of the term “alleged” suggests that the chiefs are in doubt that heinous crimes such as rape, torture, and extra-judicial killings ever happened. Said Moyo:
<blockquote>
The Manual identifies specific groups of people to be interviewed as ‘alleged’ rape victims, ‘alleged’ sodomy victims, ‘alleged’ torture victims, and ex-combatants.
Why should the Manual emphasise the term ‘alleged?’
Does it mean that the government and the National Council of Chiefs are in doubt that these crimes were committed, hence ‘alleged’?
To them, is it yet to be proved that people were tortured, that people were raped? Shame on the authors of the Manual which was endorsed by the government.
</blockquote>
He also questioned why the vast majority of Ndebele people were left off the list of victims to be consulted when, according to him, Gukurahundi targetted all Ndebele people. Moyo said:
<blockquote>
The derogatory language of the Fifth Brigade and the government was directed at all Ndebele people.
The word ‘cockroaches’ applied to all Ndebeles, physically tortured or not. That all Ndebeles, including the unborn, were labelled as dissidents making all Ndebeles victims of the genocide.
It follows that everyone who was there has to participate in the engagement exercise.
All Mthwakazi people are victims of Gukurahundi. They all underwent emotional torture.
Government and its National Council of Chiefs cannot expect people to be emotionally stable when they witnessed their own parents, children, siblings, relatives, and neighbours being raped, tortured, maimed, and killed.
</blockquote>
Gukurahundi is a term used to refer to disturbances in <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Matabeleland" title="Matabeleland">Matabeleland</a> and <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Midlands" title="Midlands">Midlands</a> in the 1980s which resulted in the death of an estimated 20 000 <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Ndebele" title="Ndebele">Ndebele</a> people.
It was carried out by the North Korean-trained <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/5th_Brigade" title="5th Brigade">5th Brigade</a> which was an elite regiment of the <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Zimbabwe_Defence_Forces" title="Zimbabwe Defence Forces">Zimbabwe Defence Forces</a>. 
Gukurahundi is derived from a Shona language term that loosely translates to “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains”.

MRP Criticises Chief’s Gukurahundi Manual

Local Government and Public Works Minister July Moyo has said the national apology on Gukurahundi was long dealt with when former President Robert Mugabe and former Vice President Joshua Nkomo through the 1987 unity accord.
Moyo was speaking at the Bulawayo State House Monday during the launch of a manual to guide community hearings into the Gukurahundi massacres. <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/2022/10/mnangagwa-buries-apologies-subject-as-he-launches-gukurahundi-hearings/">ZimLive</a> cites him as saying:
<blockquote>
… That the national apology issue was resolved by former President Robert Mugabe and former Vice President Joshua Nkomo when the Unity Accord was signed in 1987.
That was agreed in your (Mnangagwa) discussion with the chiefs.
</blockquote>
Moyo was presenting a summary of issues agreed upon between President Mnangagwa and traditional chiefs in Matabeleland on how the hearings will be conducted.
<h2>Some context:</h2>
Gukurahundi occurred in the 1980s, in the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s independence.
Then Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe deployed the North Korean-trained 5th Brigade to “deal” with the alleged threat of “dissidents” in those provinces.
An estimated 20 000, mostly Ndebele-speaking people died in the conflict.
Government critics including the opposition have over the years been calling upon authorities to compensate the families of Gukurahundi victims and to publicly ask for forgiveness.
The Gukurahundi issue was a sensitive topic during Mugabe’s era but that changed when Mnangagwa came to power and <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2019/04/14/i-would-like-to-see-people-debating-gukurahundi-emmerson-mnangagwa/">allowed “debate” on the subject. </a>
The issue was then assigned to the Retired Justice Sello Nare-chaired National Peace and Reconciliation Commission but was later passed on to traditional chiefs.
Mnangagwa further agreed with chiefs that Gukurahundi should be defined “as the state and organised dissidents and not a Ndebele-Shona cultural conflict so as to address current perceptions and achieve national healing and peace.”
Each chief will spearhead the resolution of Gukurahundi issues by presiding over hearings or consultations in his or her area of jurisdiction, according to a 14-page document produced by Chiefs’ Council president Fortune Charumbira.
That exhumations and reburial will be resolved on a case-by-case basis customs centric and the relevant chief should give guidance and direction.
Mnangagwa presided over the launch of the start of the Gukurahundi hearings in Bulawayo.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Gukurahundi: Govt Says Mugabe And Nkomo Resolved The National Apology Issue

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has accused unnamed political parties of weaponising the Gukurahundi atrocities in a bid to get political mileage.
He was speaking at the launch of the Gukurahundi community engagement programme at Bulawayo State House this Monday.
Mnangagwa said his government wants peace, accusing “external forces” of working with opposition parties in weaponising the atrocities that claimed an estimated 20 000 people in Midlands and Matabeleland provinces. He claimed:
<blockquote>
Despite our determination to achieve unity, our nation has not been spared of the divisive machinations of our detractors who seek to drive a wedge between our people, and generally destabilise our country.
The Gukurahundi issue has provided fertile ground for those who seek to retain us in a locked position of perpetual conflict and acrimony. Some political formations have sought to use the Gukurahundi issue as a political weapon which they deploy in the regions of Matabeleland and Midlands to gain political mileage for selfish political ends.
You will have noted that whenever we approach elections, external forces using political parties which they control, make a concerted effort to incite citizens to engage in divisive conduct, ostensibly all under the quest of achieving what they term justice for the region.
I urge you all to be vigilant and to disregard any attempts by any party or grouping to achieve political mileage through the Gukurahundi issue. Never again shall we be divided by those who purport to teach democracy.
To the external detractors who seek to maintain Gukurahundi as a perennial fountain of conflict, I say to you Lingena ngaphi (Where do you come in).
</blockquote>
Mnangagwa said his government has mandated traditional leaders to lead the Gukurahundi community engagement process to bring the case to finality.
Gukurahundi, derived from a Shona language term which loosely translates to “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains,” refers to killings that happened in Midlands and Matabeleland provinces in the 1980s.
Then Prime Minister, Robert Mugabe deployed the North Korean-trained 5th Brigade to “deal” with the alleged threat of “dissidents” in those provinces.
An estimated 20 000, mostly Ndebele-speaking people died in the conflict.
Government critics including the opposition have over the years been calling upon authorities to compensate the families of Gukurahundi victims.
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

ED Says Politicians Are Using Gukurahundi To Gain Political Mileage

Zenzele Ndebele, a Bulawayo-based journalist and human rights activist, says most negotiations and agreements entered into before independence and after have so far failed to solve Zimbabwe’s political crises.
He mentioned several agreements including the Unity Accord of 1987 which was signed between ZANU and ZAPU leaders, Robert Mugabe and Joshua Nkomo, respectively. He said:
<blockquote>
Following the Gukurahundi Genocide between 1983-1987, the Unity Accord was signed on 22 December 1987 between Prime Minister Mugabe and the ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo. A blanket amnesty was given to everyone who was involved.
Major weakness: The best way to bring peace and reconciliation in communities is through truth-telling and a shared willingness to reconcile The 1987 agreement did not mention anything about Gukurahundi victims.
The 1987 Unity Accord ended the Genocide but did not bring peace and reconciliation.
</blockquote>
In all the examples he provided, Ndebele observed that the major weakness of the agreements was the failure to involve all concerned parties. 
His remarks come as some political players and analysts are calling for national dialogue to put an end to the southern African country’s socio-economic and political crises.
Some believe dialogue with the ruling ZANU PF will not work saying confrontation is the way to go. 
<h2><a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

"Agreements Signed In Th Past Failed To Solve Zimbabwe's Political Crises" - Ndebele

The National Transitional Justice Working Group Zimbabwe (NTJWG) has demanded an apology and retraction from the government after justice minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said nothing will be done to the perpetrators of the Gukurahundi massacres.
Addressing the United Nations committee on the elimination of racial discrimination (CERD) last week, Ziyambi said <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2022/08/24/ziyambi-says-arresting-gukurahundi-perpetrators-is-violation-of-mugabes-general-amnesty-declaration/">arresting perpetrators of Gukurahundi would be a violation of the general amnesty declaration</a> made by the late former President Robert Mugabe in 1987. 
Approximately 20 000 people were killed in Midlands and Matabeleland in the aftermath of independence when Mugabe deployed the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade to “deal with” alleged dissidents.
NTJWG deputy chairperson Dzikamai Bere told journalists Thursday that Ziyambi’s remarks suggested that the government had no intention of redressing the Gukurahundi massacres, which Ziyambi loosely referred to as mere ‘disturbances.’ <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/human-rights-groups-demand-retraction-of-minister-ziyambis-genocide-utterances/">NewZimbabwe.com</a> cites him as saying:
<blockquote>
He stated that the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), whose constitutional mandate is to deal with post-conflict justice, has no mandate to deal with the mass atrocities which occurred during the Gukurahundi.
Ziyambi further stated that the government has no mandate to prosecute perpetrators of human rights violations due to the broad amnesty declared by former President Robert Mugabe under Clemency Order No. 1 of 1990.
Our position is that the amnesty granted did not resolve justice and accountability issues relating to the Gukurahundi massacres. This position has also been affirmed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who has openly declared the need to address this issue, albeit through the engagement of chiefs.
The NTJWG calls on government to immediately censure Ziyambi’s pronouncement, make a public apology to the victims and survivors of Gukurahundi, stop undermining the role of the NPRC and capacitate the NPRC to enable justice and closure to victims and survivors of the Gukurahundi massacres.
</blockquote>
Bere said the general amnesty declaration by Mugabe does not apply to genocide and crimes against humanity, “which the Gukurahundi massacre falls under.”
<h2><a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a></h2>

Ziyambi's "Nothing Will Be Done To Gukurahundi Perpetrators" Anger Human Rights Groups

Human rights activists in Matabeleland have challenged President Emmerson Mnangagwa and his deputy Constantino Chiwenga to openly address the Gukurahundi issue after they publicly claimed to have roots in the region.
During a visit to Bulawayo last week, Chiwenga claimed his great grandfather’s sister was a chief in Nkayi and married to Mzilikazi as one of his many wives.
Chiwenga also claimed that Mnangagwa’s grandfather, Mubengu was kept at the Mzilikazi royal kraal until he was conscripted into the Mbizo regiment.
But political commentator and human rights activist Effie Ncube said the victims of Gukurahundi are not interested in “disjointed self-serving historical narratives.” He said:
<blockquote>
Instead, what matters to millions is truth and justice on the Gukurahundi genocide in which they were leading actors.
Therefore, now that both Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are speaking about their history in Matabeleland, let them focus on the most important and recent history, primarily the roles each of them played in the Gukurahundi genocide.
It is this truth and not the hazy precolonial history of their forefathers that people are interested in.
</blockquote>
Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) president Mqondisi Moyo said Mnangagwa and Chiwenga are insincere and should desist from playing with people’s emotions. Said Moyo:
<blockquote>
Why would both Chiwenga and Mnangagwa as the nephews of Mthwakazi facilitate the killing of their uncles? Both of them are shedding crocodile tears on our people.
We are glad that MRP is giving them sleepless nights, no wonder why up to this day they are failing to sincerely own up to Gukurahundi.
We are expecting them to be fixing the ailing economy instead of playing with our emotions.
</blockquote>
Both Mnangagwa and Chiwenga have been accused of having played a leading role in the killing of 20 000 civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands in the first decade after independence.
Mnangagwa was the State security minister at the time and Chiwenga was in charge of the Bulawayo battalion that supported the North Korea-trained 5th Brigade that led the massacres.
More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/08/address-gukurahundi-activists-tell-chiwenga/">NewsDay</a>

Activists Challenge Chiwenga To Address Gukurahundi

The <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Mthwakazi">Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP)</a> has said late Vice President <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Joshua_Nkomo">Joshua Nkomo</a> is partly to blame for the murder of some 20 000 mainly Ndebele-speaking people during <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Gukurahundi">Gukurahundi</a>.
MRP says the massacres could have been avoided if Nkomo had accepted the proposal tabled during the Lancaster House talks of 1979 to split Zimbabwe into two countries.
Late President <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Robert_Mugabe">Robert Mugabe</a>’s North Korean-trained 5th Brigade butchered civilians in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces under the guise of searching for dissidents between 1983 and 1987.
Speaking at a rally in Khame, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Plumtree">Plumtree</a>, MRP president Mqondisi Moyo said the former ZAPU president, Nkomo, refused the offer as he thought he was going to win the country’s first one-man-one-vote election in 1980. <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/mthwakazi-says-nkomo-was-partly-to-blame-for-gukurahundi-genocide/">NewZimbabwe.com cites</a> him as saying:
<blockquote>
I feel sad because we had the opportunity to separate ourselves from Zimbabwe during the Lancaster House talks of 1979 but the late Zapu leader Nkomo refused, he said he wanted the two countries combined because he thought he was going to win not knowing that Mugabe and his colleagues had finished with him.
Three years down the line, Ndebele people started being brutally murdered in the hands of Mugabe. If Nkomo had agreed to that option during the talks, there was not going to be a thing called Gukurahundi.
If only he had not called for a cease-fire in 1982, we were going to defeat Shonas once and for all. I always wonder why Nkomo took his ZPRA troops for training in Russia, Cuba, Algeria and Egypt only call for a cease-fire.
</blockquote>
MRP is a political party pushing for reconstitution of the Mthwakazi nation through cessation from the greater Zimbabwe. Mthwakazi is the original Ndebele kingdom.
<h2>More: <a class="external text" href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/download/" rel="nofollow">Pindula News </a>is best enjoyed <a href="https://zero.pindula.co.zw/download/?utm_source=PindulaArticles&amp;utm_campaign=DownloadLink">via the App. Download it here</a></h2>

Mthwakazi Republic Party Says Late VP Nkomo Partly To Blame For Gukurahundi

Ibhetshu Likazulu coordinator Mbuso Fuzwayo was one of the people arrested by police at a prayer meeting in Harare on Friday.
The prayer meeting was part of the “Zimbabwe We Want Campaign” launch which was supposed to be done on the same day but was blocked by the police on the grounds that it was a political gathering and not a religious event.
The participants then later gathered at the Zimbabwe Divine Destiny offices for a short prayer service.
Anti-riot police, however, descended on the gathering and arrested 34 people, including pastors.
Bulawayo-based Pastor Milson Ndlovu of Brethren In Christ Church who was among the participants confirmed the arrest of the Gukurahundi activist (Fuzwayo). Said Ndlovu:
<blockquote>
The unfortunate part is that Mbuso Fuzwayo, the secretary-general of Ibhetshu LikaZulu and his colleagues who were coming to be with us for the prayer service plus pastors who came from Masvingo and all the other provinces were rounded up and have been locked in cells.
Ten of the arrested appeared in court while twenty-four have opted to pay fines for disorderly conduct.
</blockquote>
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/ibhetsu-likazulu-leader-arrested/">NewZimbabwe.com</a></h4>

Ibhetsu Likazulu Leader Arrested At Prayer Meeting

Human rights activists say National Assembly Speaker, Jacob Mudenda, has exposed ZANU PF’s plan to use <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Gukurahundi">Gukurahundi</a> as a campaign gimmick ahead of the 2023 elections.
This comes after Mudenda on Wednesday urged the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) to bring closure to the Gukurahundi issue before the 2023 elections.
However, human rights activist, Dumisani Nkomo, said there is no political will to address Gukurahundi. He said:
<blockquote>
NPRC has been in place for almost 10 years and has done nothing to address Gukurahundi. What will make it address it now?
</blockquote>
Ibhetshu LikaZulu co-ordinator Mbuso Fuzwayo said that the Government is not serious about resolving the matter and is just playing with people’s emotions. Said Fuzwayo:
<blockquote>
One minute they talk about chiefs addressing it, while we are looking at chiefs, they now talk about the commission.
It clearly tells you they are just playing with people’s emotions, buying time and giving people false hope.
Since 2018, has Parliament ever received a report from the commission? He can’t talk about them resolving the genocide in a year when in four years they have not done anything.
</blockquote>
Human rights advocate Effie Ncube said there are no shortcuts to resolving Gukurahundi. He said:
<blockquote>
Gukurahundi genocide cannot be addressed in the remaining few months before the elections.
Not only do perpetrators lack the political will to succeed, but also they are just seeking political campaign capital and not truth and justice which are the goals of victims and survivors.
The resolution of the Gukurahundi genocide will take far longer than the sham shortcut to nowhere that the government has in mind.
Genuine processes take years of digging for the truth and dispensing justice.
</blockquote>
Gukurahundi is a term used to refer to the military operation in Matabeleland and Midlands in the 1980s which resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20 000 Ndebele people.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2022/05/mudenda-rapped-over-gukurahundi-election-project/">NewsDay</a></h4>

"No Shortcuts To Resolving Gukurahundi Matter"

Self-exiled former ZANU PF politburo member and cabinet minister Jonathan Moyo said he won’t return to Zimbabwe any time soon for fear of “the murderous Gukurahundists”, in reference to the government birthed by the November 2017 military coup.
Moyo fled the country while the coup was unfolding and is reported to be living in Kenya.
Besides Moyo, other prominent G40 members, such as Saviour Kasikuwere, Walter Mzembi and Patrick Zhuwao are also living in exile.
G40 was a ZANU PF faction that was reportedly aligned to former First Lady Grace Mugabe and was working to prevent President Emmerson Mnangagwa from succeeding Mugabe.
In an emailed response to NewsDay, Moyo asserted that he will not come back to Zimbabwe when Mnangagwa and other military leaders who staged the coup were still in power. He wrote:
<blockquote>
Like compatriots elsewhere in the diaspora, I am ancestrally and, therefore, existentially Zimbabwean and Zimbabwe wherever I am, as such I did not and cannot flee Zimbabwe, but I fled murderous Gukurahundists that Bishop Manhanga was praying with and for.
… they were baying for my blood and they had put my family in harm’s way, falsely accusing me of treason, causing disaffection in the army and working for the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] through the then United States ambassador in Harare, Harry Thomas, whom I never met nor spoke to even for one second during his entire tenure in the country.
Today, they are the illegitimate government. If I fled them when they were not in government, it is preposterous for anyone, let alone a whole bishop (Trevor Manhanga) who ought to know better, to say I should go back to the murderous Gukurahundists today when they are the government. It’s like inviting me to a slaughterhouse. Hell no!
</blockquote>
Trevor Manhanga, a preacher with reported links to ZANU PF, on Sunday, urged Zimbabweans living abroad to return and help rebuild the country.
He was speaking during a national thanksgiving and dedication service held at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) in Bulawayo that was also attended by Mnangagwa.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/12/ill-not-return-to-zim-anytime-soon-moyo/">NewsDay</a></h4>

Prof Moyo: I Won't Return To Zimbabwe Anytime Soon

Police in Bulawayo on Wednesday blocked a Gukurahundi commemorative event held by pressure group, Ibhetshu LikaZulu, at Stanley Square.
The annual event is held on 22 December to remember the 20 000 victims of the 1980s Gukurahundi atrocities.
Ibhetshu LikaZulu had planned to march from Stanley Square to the Joshua Nkomo statue in the city centre but police details were deployed to block the event.
This year’s commemorations were held under the theme: “Can there be healing without truth-telling and justice?”
Speaking in an interview with CITE, Ibhetshu LikaZulu Secretary-General Mbuso Fuzwayo said the police conduct was not surprising. He said:
<blockquote>
We are not surprised by the conduct of the police. They are part of the security forces that were responsible for the genocide.
It is sad that President Emmerson Mnangagwa always reiterates that people can now discuss openly Gukurahundi but every time when we hold commemorations they come and block us.
However, that is not going to stop the people from holding such events.
</blockquote>
On 22 December 1987, the late ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo signed the Unity Accord with the late ZANU PF leader Robert Mugabe.
The agreement brought to an end the State-sponsored Gukurahundi massacres in the Matabeleland region and parts of Midlands province.
<h4>More: <a href="https://cite.org.zw/police-block-gukurahundi-memorial-event/">CITE</a></h4>

Police Block Gukurahundi Memorial Event In Bulawayo

Norton MP (independent) Temba Mliswa says the late Simon Khaya Moyo was among senior Zapu leaders who were persecuted by the ruling Zanu PF in the early 1980s.
Moyo (76) died last week after battling cancer and was buried at the National Heroes Acre Monday.
Mliswa who was at the national shrine described the late national hero as an outstanding leader who was incorruptible despite the persecution and harassment he went through at the hands of the governing party. 
At the time Moyo was a senior ZAPU official, over 20 000 people, mostly Zapu sympathisers were killed by the state during the Gukurahundi era. Mliswa said:
<blockquote>
My father was also part of ZAPU. They worked together with Cde Ambrose Mutinhiri. Moyo served loyally in the party and was dedicated to his duties. He did what he had to do.
S.K. is gone too soon for the country he fought for. He was accused of too many things, but I am glad he is a national hero. May we honour our heroes whilst they are alive, and not when they are dead.
</blockquote>
Foreign Minister Fredrick Shava described Moyo as a tireless worker, a supporter of Zanu PF.
War veterans Association chairperson Chris Mutsvangwa described Moyo’s death as a loss to the country and the SADC region. He added:
<blockquote>
What I learnt from him is that a revolutionary is a man who loves his country regardless of his standing in society.
 He was an intellectual of the highest level, but he dedicated his whole life to the freedom of Zimbabwe. At independence, he became a nation builder and he became more important when the country was facing serious challenges of re-colonisation by the British especially after the land reform in the 1990s.
</blockquote>
He added that S.K. Moyo ended up in South Africa as a diplomat where he worked with the African National Congress (ANC) ministers to make sure Zimbabwe was saved from a war similar to the one in Iraq.
More: <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/zanu-pf-persecuted-sk-moyo-mliswa/">NewZimbabwe</a>

S.K Moyo Was Persecuted By ZANU PF - Mliswa

Exiled Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZPRA) ex-combatant and former dissident Vincent Ndlovu says they took up arms against former president Robert Mugabe’s government in self-defence as they were faced with total annihilation by security forces.
In his new book titled “Seeking Freedom and Justice (Loyal but not Docile) under the chapter Seeking Refugee in Tsholotsho”, Ndlovu chronicles how government forces hounded ZPRA comrades out of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and the comfort of their homes, forcing them to set camp in the Tsholotsho bushes to escape torture and killings.
Ndlovu claims that despite being poorly resourced with firearms, government forces, even with air support, were forced to retreat on several occasions after suffering humiliating defeats at the hands of the few dissidents. He said:
<blockquote>
As much as we would have liked to enjoy the fruits of our independence, our loved ones, we had been driven back to the woods and pursued by armed men who would shoot first and ask questions later.
That we had been driven to the bush against our will left us with no option that being ex-ZPRA had become a crime and that invoked in us the spirit of resistance that raised the impetus to use the few arms and ammunition that we had to protect ourselves from total annihilation.
Our initial group of seven had become the core around which the self-defence initiative was built and within a month we had been able to repel a few attacks by the security forces.
</blockquote>
Ndlovu will next week present a public lecture under the topic: The Dissidents Story during the week-long Annual Healing and Reconciliation Film Festival organised by the Centre for Innovation and Technology (CITE).
The festival, which will run from October, 25 to 30, seeks to highlight the importance of transitional justice using film and academic lectures by experts in the area of history and genocidal studies.
An estimated 20 000 civilians lost their lives with researchers arguing that the killings were deliberate to create a one-party state as the majority of the victims were supporters of the opposition ZAPU and Ndebeles.
According to late ZAPU president Dumiso Dabengwa, the dissidents numbered less than 50 disgruntled ZPRA guerrillas that were frustrated by Mugabe’s harassment of ZAPU members.
Mugabe never accepted the blame for the Gukurahundi, only describing the period as a moment of madness.
<h4>More: <a href="https://thestandard.newsday.co.zw/2021/10/17/ex-dissident-pens-gukurahundi-book/">The Standard</a></h4>

Former Dissident Writes Book On Gukurahundi

Chief Mathema from Matabeleland South has said president Emmerson Mnangagwa’s meeting with the National Chiefs Council (NCC) to discuss the Gukurahundi atrocities is meaningless.
The president met chiefs from Matabeleland at the State House in Bulawayo where they <a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2021/08/21/resolutions-from-mnangagwa-matabeleland-chiefs-indaba/">agreed that traditional leaders would lead the exhumation of people killed</a> by the 5th Brigade in the aftermath of independence.
Chiefs from the Midlands Province, which is also the target of the massacres that left approximately 20 000 people, mostly supporters of the late former Vice President Joshua Nkomo dead, were absent from the meeting. Commenting on the meeting, chief Mathema said:
<blockquote>
The meeting is meaningless without the involvement of affected chieftainships.
Affected chieftainships should lead the process not an outsider.
The NCC is an outsider in this case.
This issue does not need the chiefs’ council. It does not make any sense to have a chief from Mutare in the NCC, for example, to deliberate on the pains faced by a chief here whose area was affected by Gukurahundi.
Over and above, we know Gukurahundi also affected Midlands but chiefs from there are being denied an opportunity to present their case. There is no sincerity in all this.
If we are serious about this problem, affected chieftainships must be part of the process.
</blockquote>
Effie Ncube, a Bulawayo-based human rights activist said it was wrong for people implicated in the Gukurahundi atrocities – ZANU PF and the State – to lead the process meant to address the issue.
Ncube said there is a need for a standalone independent international commission for the purpose of addressing Gukurahundi and the state should only provide an enabling environment for the commission to do its work.
Mbuso Fuzwayo of Ibhetshu LikaZulu, a Bulawayo-based pressure group reiterated that Mnangagwa was not genuine in his approach and urged “all people” to reject the process.
More: <a href="https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2021/08/22/army-killings-eds-fresh-plan-raises-eyebrows/">The Standard</a>

Mnangagwa Meeting With Matabeleland Chiefs On Gukurahundi Is Meaningless: Chief

President Emmerson Mnangagwa is on Saturday expected to hold a meeting with chiefs from the Matabeleland region in Bulawayo to, among other issues, review progress in addressing issues related to Gukurahundi.
Several chiefs from Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South will today and tomorrow hold meetings to deliberate on the subject ahead of the meeting with Mnangagwa on Saturday.
Vice President Dr Constantino Chiwenga is also expected to attend the high-powered meeting on Saturday.
The others expected to attend the meeting are the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and Local Government and Public Works officials.
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi on Wednesday confirmed the development, saying the chiefs are expected to add flesh on the agenda of the meeting. Said Ziyambi:
<blockquote>
Ask the chiefs, we are just facilitators, we have been invited as well. I’m sure they will be happy to tell you because we don’t want it to appear as if it’s our meeting when it’s their meeting.
</blockquote>
President of the National Council of Chiefs, Chief Charumbira who is expected to be part of the meeting said he could not comment over the phone.
But sources close to the developments told the Chronicle that the Gukurahundi issue is expected to top the agenda.
<a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Gukurahundi">Gukurahundi</a> is a term used to refer to the 1980s massacre of an estimated 20 000 people mainly from the Ndebele ethnic group by the Zimbabwe National Army’s 5th brigade, trained by North Koreans.
Gukurahundi is derived from a Shona language term that loosely translates to “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains”. <a class="mw-redirect" href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/Gukurahundi_Timeline" title="Gukurahundi Timeline">For the Gukurahundi timeline click here</a>.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/gukurahundi-tops-agenda-as-president-meets-chiefs/">Chronicle</a></h4>

Gukurahundi Tops Agenda As Mnangagwa Meets Matabeleland Chiefs

ZimRights is seeking a declaratory order in the High Court that the National Peace and Reconciliation (NPRC) Commissioner, Obert Gutu has ceased being a commissioner.
Represented by the Zimbabwe Human Rights NGO Forum, ZimRights argues that in terms of section 236 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, any politician appointed to an independent commission must renounce their political party membership within 30 days of the appointment or they immediately cease to be a commissioner.
Using social media, Gutu publicly announced that he was joining ZANU PF before being appointed commissioner and he has not said anything about resignation as required by law. ZimRights Director, Dzikamai Bere said:
<blockquote>Gutu’s comments on Gukurahundi reflect that his political activism in ZANU PF makes it impossible for him to have the compassion and empathy required for a commissioner of the NPRC. He cannot win the confidence of the victims and survivors.
It is good for such activists to be removed from the commission. They are a danger to the mission of NPRC.</blockquote>
A member of the ZimRights Right to Peace Action Zone, Maria Nkomo said:
<blockquote>Obert Gutu can not be commissioner. He is a political activist and his sentiments on Gukurahundi makes us doubt his capabilities to represent the interest of the people.</blockquote>
The NPRC is one of the independent commissions established by Chapter 12 of the Constitution.
The commission since its inception has struggled to deal with the deepening confidence deficit and the case of Obert Gutu makes this situation even worse.

ZimRights Push For Gutu Ouster From NPRC

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:
<blockquote>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.</blockquote>
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.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.herald.co.zw/gukurahundi-number-one-priority-nprc/">The Herald</a></h4>

NPRC Apologises For Gutu's Gukurahundi Comments

The Matabeleland Forum has demanded that the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) publicly disown a recent statement made by Obert Gutu, one of its commissioners.
Gutu, a former MDC spokesperson who recently joined ZANU PF, told reporters early this week that the 1980s Gukurahundi massacres were a “small, tiny” part of the issues the NPRC intends to deal with.
<a href="https://news.pindula.co.zw/2021/06/23/gutu-gukurahundi-a-very-small-tiny-fraction-of-what-prcs-discussing/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">READ MORE: Gutu: Gukurahundi A Very Small, Tiny Fraction Of What PRC’s Discussing</a>
Pindula News publishes a statement by the Matabeleland Forum seeking the NPRC to state its position regarding Gutu’s statement:
<blockquote>The Matabeleland Forum has noted with alarm and concern the recent statement by the spokesperson of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), Obert Gutu, that the Gukurahundi is a ‘small, tiny part of what the NPRC intends to deal with under its mandate.
We note that the atrocities committed against the citizens of Matabeleland during the early 1980s resulted in the deaths of an estimated 20,000 innocent people.
Many of these mass murders were deeply premeditated, constituted as policy and were deliberately cruel.
This era further resulted in massive property destruction, infrastructural damage, rape, torture and destruction of the social fabric of families, villages and communities.
The lack of accountability and the lack of genuine space to deal with this past remains burning, unfinished business for us in Matabeleland.
The deliberate under-development of the region during the 1980s and since, keeps many Matabeleland citizens in a state of depression and subjugation.
The shredding of the social fabric which dates to the 1980s, underlies many other issues and conflicts that we as NGOs and churches work with the inability of every kind of development committee can be traced back to the fear of taking leadership roles at the village level for fear of being chopped down in the future by a state that does not allow for dissent.
To deal with the conflicts of the present, it is essential to trace them back to the impact of the Gukurahundi era.
There is no other starting point for us, the lack of accountability and the perpetrating of atrocity against the innocent must be dealt with, back to the 1980s in Matabeleland.
We are aware, having collaborated with the NPRC for the last few years, that Gukurahundi is in fact the number one issue to be dealt with in their five-year strategic plan. This is appropriate and necessary.
There is an urgent need for the NPRC to distance itself from and to correct the recent statement by their official spokesperson.
The NPRC needs to clarify that Gutu’s description of the murder of 20,000 civilians and the long reach of the multiple traumas of the 1980s into the present, is NOT a small, tiny’ matter, and remains a primary focus of this Commission.
If the NPRC does not distance itself from Gutu’s statement, and confirm the primacy of Gukurahundi in its activities, the Matabeleland Forum will take this to mean that the NPRC no longer has any interest in working with the issues we as NGOs and churches in Matabeleland consider central. Matabeleland Forum represents more than 29 civic society and Church groups.</blockquote>

Matabeleland Forum 'Alarmed' By Obert Gutu's Remarks On Gukurahundi

A Gukurahundi memorial plaque has reportedly been stolen in Silobela, Midlands Province, barely a fortnight after unknown people removed a similar structure in Bhalagwe, Matabeleland South Province.
The plaque was erected by Bulawayo-based pressure group Ibhetshu LikaZulu in memory of 12 villagers that were killed during the Gukurahundi massacres in 1985 in Silobela.
Speaking to NewsDay by phone on Sunday, Ibhetshu LikaZulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo blamed the State for the theft of the Silobela Gukurahundi memorial plaque. He said:
<blockquote>We hold the State solely responsible for the theft. We condemn in the strongest terms the theft of the memorial plaque.</blockquote>
Late last month, a Gukurahundi memorial plaque unveiled by Chief Fuyane with the support of Ibhetshu Likazulu in Bhalagwe, Maphisa was stolen barely hours after its erection.
The unveiling of the Bhalagwe memorial plaque was done during a memorial service held in memory of the people who lost their lives during the 1980s Gukurahundi massacres.
Over 20 000 people, mainly of Ndebele ethnicity were killed by the Fifth Brigade, according to the Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice, which compiled a book on the atrocities titled Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace: A Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands, 1980 to 1988.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/06/gukurahundi-memorial-plaque-stolen/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">NewsDay</a></h4>

Another Gukurahundi Memorial Plaque Stolen In Silobela

International human rights watchdog, Amnesty International has reported that thousands of Zimbabweans mainly Gukurahundi survivors and descendants of immigrant workers are being denied citizenship in Zimbabwe.
The organisation claims in a new report Friday that the descendants of migrant workers who settled in Zimbabwe during colonial times and survivors of the Gukurahundi massacres were denied nationality by “a cruel combination of discrimination and bureaucracy.”
Speaking during the launch of the report titled We are like “Stray Animals,” Muleya Mwananyanda, Amnesty deputy director for Southern Africa said:
<blockquote>For Zimbabwe’s stateless, everyday life is filled with obstacles. Accessing education, healthcare and employment can be a nightmare, and the sense of exclusion and rejection is soul-destroying….
Section 43 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution states that any resident who was born in Zimbabwe to parents with a claim to citizenship of any SADC state – including Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia and South Africa – is a Zimbabwean citizen by birth.</blockquote>
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that about 300 000 people are stateless in Zimbabwe.
Mwananyanda called on President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to “take concrete action to address this crisis… and ensure laws are in line with Zimbabwe’s own Constitution, as well as international human rights law.”
Amnesty International says while Zimbabwe called for descendants of migrant workers to renounce their ancestral nationality within six months in 2001 so as to get citizenship but many were locked out because they did not have the requisite identity documents.
Many of the affected people just could not prove that their parents had been nationals of other countries while some Gukurahundi survivors had difficulties having identity documents.
One of the affected people, Alex, whose father was Zambian, says he has no idea how he can locate his parents’ relatives as he has never been to Zambia.
Resultantly, he could not proceed beyond Grade 7 at school, and that meant his children falling into the same vicious generational curse since they could not get birth certificates.
Botshiwe Dube, from Tsholotsho in Matabeleland North, told researchers when she went into labour and rushed to a clinic, she was turned away and forced to give birth at home as she could not provide an ID. All her subsequent children were delivered at home.
More: <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/2021/04/17/generational-curse-as-thousands-are-denied-citizenship-in-zimbabwe/">ZimLive</a>

Gukurahundi Survivors, Descendants Of Immigrant Workers Denied Citizenship - Amnesty International

The Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) said President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is trying to destroy some of the evidence of Gukurahundi massacres.
ZAPU spokesperson Iphithule Maphosa on Thursday alleged that the major reason for the November 2017 military coup which toppled then president, Robert Mugabe, was for Mnangagwa and his accomplices to escape justice for the crimes they committed.
Maphosa argued that the fact that the current government has appointed different bodies and individuals to resolve the Gukuruhandi issues betrays a systematic plan to destroy all the evidence. He said:
<blockquote>Soon after staging his military coup, Mnangagwa made a loud proclamation that the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission had been given the responsibility of resolving Gukurahundi.
Despite our registered doubts over the capacity of this commission to solve the genocide, Mnangagwa sent the commission countrywide on what was purported to be a fact-finding mission.
A clear agenda of evidence erasure in blatant disregard for justice is being attempted without shame as well.
The choice of those who are tasked with the destruction of evidence is being done using a carefully planned strategy.
It is never a coincidence that all the listed bodies and individuals have been given that task one after another.</blockquote>
More than 20 000 civilians were massacred by a Zimbabwe National Army brigade trained by North Koreans in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces between 1983 and 1987 as the ZANU PF government pursued perceived PF ZAPU dissidents.
The mass killings, which have been referred to as ‘Gukurahundi’ (a Shona word for the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains), were concentrated within PF ZAPU-dominated areas and only ended when the party agreed to be swallowed by ZANU PF.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2020/11/zapu-red-flags-plot-to-erase-gukurahundi-evidence/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NewsDay</a></h4>

ZAPU Warns Of Plot To Erase Gukurahundi Evidence

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