President Emmerson Mnangagwa has once again distanced himself from involvement in the Gukurahundi crimes, accusing detractors of causing the post-independence atrocities.
He made these claims while officiating at the official launch of the Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme at the Bulawayo State House on Sunday, five years after his initiative was mooted in 2019.
Gukurahundi was launched in the early 1980s, with the government claiming it was an operation to destroy dissidents who had been attacking civilians.
However, operation Gukarahundi mostly targeted the Ndebele in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces, whose killings set the foundation for the ongoing ethnic tensions.
Sunday’s launch of the Gukurahundi community hearings, in which victims and survivors can express their grievances before a 14-member panel led by a Chief, comes 40 years after the genocide occurred, with perpetrators still to account for the heinous crimes.
President Mnangagwa, one of the most senior surviving individuals accused of overseeing the genocide has consistently denied playing an active role in Gukurahundi. At the same time, the government have also dismissed claims that the operation constituted a genocide.
In his speech, the president claimed history has recorded that all internal divisions in Zimbabwe have been instigated by detractors in various guises through generations. These detractors he said have worked tirelessly to pit one tribe against the other during the colonial era.
Mnangagwa said these oppressors sought to sow seeds of division amongst liberation struggle fighters and within communities, whose “interference and machinations were designed to divide us and consequently created our post-independence conflicts.”
He also claimed the government was aware that the “same detractors have not abandoned “their ultimate goal of thwarting the realisation of our determination to remain as united Zimbabweans,” and accused them of ongoing efforts to undermine national unity and prosperity.
“Our unity must stand as an immovable barrier to prevent their historic goal of subjugating us in numerous ways including in the economic sphere,” Mnangagwa said.
He added that the interference by detractors manifests itself in different ways and warned them that the government knew of their agendas.
“They manifest as political parties with a regional agenda which seeks to divide our people and to question the unitary nature of our State. We see them!” Mnangagwa said.
“They manifest as voluntary organisations ostensibly concerned with the people’s plight yet they exaggerate and magnify regional grievances whilst at the same time seeking to belittle our efforts at reconciliation and unity at the behest of their founders. We see them!
“They are present in all forms of the media including social media, propagating statements of hatred, difference and vengeance against specific groupings of our nation. We see them!”
The president said these detractors would not succeed because this healing programme “is a strong statement of intent” in the government’s quest to cement Zimbabwe’s unity against the odds thrown at them by “eternal detractors.”
“Let us not be swayed by their negativity. Let us silence the whispers of doubt and the rhetoric of division. Let this Community Outreach Programme be a clarion call for unity and a resounding declaration that we choose empathy over animosity and reconciliation over retribution. We are a nation forged in the cauldron of adversity. We have weathered storms before, and we will emerge stronger from this one too,” he said.
Mnangagwa described the official launch of the community hearings as a pivotal moment in history where the country demonstrated that it was capable of resolving its disputes as Zimbabweans, “regardless of their complexity or magnitude.”
Although Mnangagwa believes he has made an effort to handle the emotive issue, analysts, and critics including opposition parties such as ZAPU have criticised him for imposing himself and running a programme that lacked legislative authority.
His decision to appoint chiefs to conduct the reconciliation has also been questioned with observers claiming the traditional leadership lacks experience in dealing with a genocide and may be acting under duress as they receive allowance for the same government implicated in the atrocities.
However, Mnangagwa insists that a local ‘homegrown solution led by chiefs is the best,
“This initiative is a potent symbol of our collective will to bridge the divides that have separated us for too long. It places the onus of healing squarely on the shoulders of its most capable custodians – our esteemed Chiefs,” he said.
“With their knowledge of tradition and wisdom, they will guide us through open dialogue, fostering empathy and understanding. “
The president stated that when Zimbabwe’s history of the post-independence era is written and read by generations to come, “surely, this day shall not be a footnote in those sacred writings.”
He also noted that the Gukurahundi, which he termed the “post-independence conflict” in Matabeleland serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of unity and the devastating consequences of disunity.
However, Mnangagwa said Zimbabweans “owe a debt of eternal gratitude to the late President Robert Gabriel Mugabe and the late Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo, for “defying seemingly insurmountable obstacles and forging the Unity Accord of 1987.”
“Let us turn our attention to a new dawn, a brighter future. A future where the scars of yesterday no longer fester, but become stepping stones on the path to a stronger, more unified Zimbabwe. A nation can only be built by a unified people,” he said.
Mnangagwa said the launch of the Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme will not be a mechanism for “revisiting grievances” but a “transformative” journey towards healing and national cohesion.
“As we share our stories, the wounds of the past will begin to mend, thereby enabling national healing,” he said.
“Let this Community Outreach Programme be a clarion call for unity and a resounding declaration that we choose empathy over animosity and reconciliation over retribution.”
Mnangagwa said this journey of national healing is not a sprint; it is a marathon and will demand patience, understanding, and a commitment to the greater good.
“Going forward, I now entrust the process into the capable hands of our Chiefs who, henceforth, are mandated to take charge of the outreach and subsequent programmes. I do not doubt that they will deliver. Ultimately we shall reap a conducive environment for the development of our country and achieve our vision of leaving no one and no place behind. With these remarks, it is my pleasure to officially launch the Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme.
