President of the National Chiefs Council, Chief Lucas Mtshane Khumalo, has urged ZAPU to attend the Gukurahundi Community hearings to share their experiences and demand justice, as the revolutionary party is adamant its members and supporters were the primary targets of the genocide.
The Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme was officially launched on Sunday in Bulawayo at the State House by President Emmerson Mnangagwa. This launch indicates that the chiefs can now begin engaging survivors and victims of the genocide, although the exact date when the actual hearings will start remains unknown.
Chief Mtshane’s invitation to the party to attend the hearings comes after ZAPU and its former military wing, ZPRA, stated that without their participation in the healing and reconciliation programme, the process would be null and void.
“If ZAPU thinks they are the ones who suffered the most during Gukurahundi, they are supposed to attend these hearings where these issues will be discussed,” said the senior chief, responding to concerns raised by ZAPU and former ZPRA on the sidelines of the official launch of the hearings.
ZAPU even attempted to stop the official launch of the hearings by petitioning President Mnangagwa.
Chief Mtshane noted that for the truth about Gukurahundi to emerge, ZAPU must participate in the hearings and help in devising ways to resolve the emotive matter.
“I am not sure that ZAPU was the primary target of Gukurahundi, I don’t know. But if it’s true, they should attend and make use of the hearings and say what they need to be addressed or what should happen,” said the senior chief.
Meanwhile, ZAPU leader Sibangilizwe Nkomo said that although the party remains the primary target of Gukurahundi as a quasi-military operation, they can “never” discount the ordinary people who were victimised for their association with ZAPU.
“Tragically, Gukurahundi was also fueled by tribalism. We are duty-bound to convince victims of the atrocities to shun the charade choreographed by the chief architect of their pain and suffering,” he said.
The ZAPU leader claimed no genuine healing could come from President Mnangagwa’s programme if it excluded their party.
“Only dialogue with ZAPU can give the first glimmer of hope. Any restorative efforts that eschew or preclude ZAPU are a practical nullity. The nation will not heal until and unless a genuinely inclusive process is agreed upon,” Nkomo said.
The ZAPU leader added, “You will remember, Mr. President, when you referred to the people of Matabeleland and Midlands, particularly Ndebele-speaking people, as cockroaches that needed DDT pesticide. Surprisingly, in the Midlands, where Shona and Ndebele live side by side, Shonas were spared while Ndebele homesteads were savagely burnt and people indiscriminately murdered. You are on record wanting to exclude Midlands from the Gukurahundi Conflict Management since it confirms your genocidal behaviour.”
However, President Mnangagwa has distanced himself from involvement in the Gukurahundi crimes, accusing detractors of causing the post-independence atrocities to thwart the country’s unity.
ZPRA Veterans Association spokesperson Buster Magwizi, who attended the launch, sarcastically remarked that they “were being launched into something” instead of having their concerns addressed by the president.
“We were looking for acknowledgement, then an apology. After we receive that apology, we can then address how the conflict will be addressed by all the stakeholders, not one arm dictating to the other,” he said.
