Pressure keeps mounting on the government over postponement of commencing the Gukurahundi hearings, following yet another false start on Thursday.
The hearings, which are being led by chiefs, were meant to begin on June 26. The chiefs will be presiding with a local 14-member panel comprising elders, religious leaders, women, youth and counsellors.
In an interview with CITE, President of the National Council of Chiefs, Chief Mtshane Khumalo, said all is in order for the commencement of the hearings but the setback was that President Emmerson Mnangagwa was presiding over another event on the same day.
“All is now set and in place. The only disturbance to the beginning of the process was that the president was presiding over another event right here in the Matabeleland region on the same day. We will be giving you updates soon on when the process will start,” he said.
Some chiefs who spoke to CITE on condition of anonymity, said they have not yet received the resources that are meant to facilitate the process.
Matabeleland-based advocacy group Ibhetshu Lika Zulu chided the government for the continued postponements, describing the conduct of the government as lack of sincerity to deal with the issue.
Ibhetshu Lika Zulu Secretary General, Mbuso Fuzwayo, said the government lacks utmost commitment to start the process.
“You cannot train people from communities and go to the media to announce the beginning of a process and yet it does not begin at the stipulated time. This shows lack of commitment from the perpetrators,” Fuzwayo told CITE in an interview.
“This constant delay is affecting even the planning process for victims. Imagine being told a specific date and after making all the necessary preparations you find that the process has been postponed again.”
Fuzwayo further raised concern on the process being held behind closed doors, citing that it prevents victims from telling their stories openly to the public.
“The other thing that is affecting this whole process is that it is being dealt with in secret. Who said the victims do not want the world to hear their stories?” he noted.
“The whole secrecy is just a ploy by the perpetrator to hide the role they played during the genocide. They do not want the world to know. This is just micro managing the process by shutting out the media.
“This process is supposed to be victim centered and all inclusive, meaning that it must be open to the public. The nation must know what happened and what will happen be done to resolve the situation, but the government wants to act like it is dealing with imbeciles who do not know what it (government) is trying to do. You can’t prescribe medication for wounds that you inflicted.”
The Gukurahundi Community Outreach programme was officially launched by President Emmerson Mnangagwa in July last year, but it has been criticized especially for being held behind closed doors. There have been concerns that such approach may retraumatise victims resulting in justice not being rendered.
According to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe, more than 20 000 were killed by the North Korea-trained 5 Brigade military unit deployed by the late former President Robert Mugabe to track alleged dissidents, although critics say the move was meant to create a one-party State.
Advocacy groups, church leaders and human rights activists have made several efforts to urge the government to address the atrocities and hold those responsible to account, in order to serve peace to the genocide victims.