BY NQOBANI NDLOVU
MATABELELAND civic groups are calling for international involvement in the resolution of the Gukurahundi issue, saying President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government is not sincere.
The civic groups made the call in a letter to Mnangagwa, Sadc, African Union (AU) and United Nations Security Council (UNSC) where they were registering a complaint over Information minister Monica Mutsvangwa’s recent tribal outbursts.
Mutsvangwa’s tribal slurs targeted at Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference leader Robert Christopher Ndlovu are a confirmation that “some aspects of the Gukurahundi genocide are still present in the treatment of the people of Matabeleland by government”, the civic groups argued.
According to the civic groups, international intervention is necessary as Gukurahundi victims and survivors are still being denied the truth while no single person has been held accountable for the genocide.
“In view of the foregoing, we therefore urge the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to ensure full justice and accountability on the Gukurahundi genocide and continued human rights violations taking place throughout Zimbabwe,” the civic groups wrote in the letter addressed to UNSC president Ambassador Dian Djani.
The letter was copied to Mnangagwa, Mozambique President Filipe Nyusi in his capacity as Sadc chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the AU Commission chairperson, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is also AU chairperson.
It is also addressed to Solomon Ayele Dersso, the chairperson of the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights, UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres, Elisabeth Tichy-Fissilberger, the UN Human Rights Council chairperson, and Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, UN General Assembly president.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“We, therefore, call upon the government to open for international involvement in the resolution of Gukurahundi atrocities, to stop denying the Gukurahundi genocide and allow victims and survivors the right to mourn, memorialise and commemorate their loved ones,” the groups said.
Mnangagwa’s predecessor, Robert Mugabe, then prime minister, despatched the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade to the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces to supposedly quash what he claimed were insurgents bent on overthrowing him, resulting in the killing of over 20 000 civilians.
“As civil society organisations in Matabeleland, we stand ready to assist the international community with background information and with our experiences and expertise to help bring about a quick end to the crisis in Zimbabwe and ensure a transparent resolution of the outstanding issue of the Gukurahundi genocide,” the groups added.
In January 2019, Matabeleland chiefs wrote to the South African parliament requesting permission to be allowed to present “facts” about the mass killings to lobby the regional powerhouse to push for an independent investigation into the atrocities.
In November 2018, Chief Vezi Mafu (Maduna) of Filabusi also petitioned the UN seeking the setting-up of an independent inquiry into the Gukurahundi massacres.
