Matโland still waiting for Gukurahundi outreach
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The long-awaited Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme is yet to commence, with logistical challenges stalling the initiative meant to address grievances stemming from the 1980s genocide in Matabeleland and Midlands.
President of the National Chiefs Council, Chief Lucas Mtshane Khumalo, confirmed the delays, noting preparatory work is still ongoing, citing they have managed to secure offices in Bulawayo to serve as the hub for consolidating data.
However, these offices need rehabilitation and refurbishment.
โWe are not sure when the engagement is going to start. We are still working on the logistics,โ said Chief Mtshane in an interview with CITE.
โThe offices were previously used by the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC). We are sprucing them up to make sure they are suitable for our work, which includes accommodating personnel, furniture, and data storage equipment.โ
The Chief outlined several hurdles delaying the start of the outreach programme, including the lack of adequate transport for the chiefs and their 14-member panels, who will conduct the consultations.
โWe also donโt have vehicles for transport โ the office of the president is looking into that. Each chief and we are about 72 requires a vehicle to transport themselves and the panel members. Since the chiefs have their own cars, we are considering hiring them so they can travel in their own cars then other vehicles carry the panel members,โ Chief Mtshane said.
โWe can start anytime, even next month but that is around the corner. As I always say, we will let you know when we are about to start.โ
A budget for the programme was previously submitted, but cost evaluations are still ongoing.
According to Chief Mtshane, these expenses include office rehabilitation, furniture, vehicles, among other necessities.
โWe did the budget some time ago but they are still working on costs one by one. We plan to meet at the end of the month as chiefs and panel members to assess progress, including the readiness of vehicles and office refurbishment. The offices need rehabilitation as they are a bit old,โ he added.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa officially launched the Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme on July 14, 2024, at the Bulawayo State House.
READ:https://cite.org.zw/gukurahundi-outreach-program-is-mnangagwas-personal-project-charumbira/
The initiative, proposed in 2019, aims to facilitate dialogue and provide a platform for victims and survivors to voice grievances and seek redress through traditional leaders.
However, the programme faced immediate setbacks, with no clear budget allocation or timeline for implementation.
Chiefs were initially expected to begin consultations shortly after the launch, but unforeseen logistical requirements delayed the process.
โMaybe we can meet with the president later but we will first engage him since he launched the programme in July. We were supposed to start after the launch in July but we didnโt know there were so many logistics that had to be worked out,โ Chief Mtshane said.
Background:
On 20 January 1983, the government deployed the North Korean-trained Fifth Brigade into Matabeleland and Midlands under the guise of suppressing dissent, leading to the deaths of around 20 000 civilians.
Gukurahundi remains a deeply divisive issue in Zimbabwe, with survivors and victimsโ families demanding justice and reconciliation.
In 2019, President Mnangagwa engaged the Matabeleland Collective to discuss regional concerns, leading to the decision to involve traditional chiefs in the healing process.
By 2020, the National Council of Chiefs endorsed the initiative and began laying the groundwork for consultations.
Chiefs were officially assigned the mandate in August 2021 during a meeting with President Mnangagwa at the Bulawayo State House.
Since then, a steering committee of 12 chiefs from Matabeleland North and South has been managing the initiative, with plans to extend consultations to affected communities.
Despite its potential to address historical injustices, the programme has faced criticism over its structure and pace.
Activists have questioned the exclusion of chiefs from the Midlands province, arguing communities were also affected by the atrocities.
Critics have also raised concerns about the neutrality of chiefs, given their close ties to the government, and whether their process will deliver meaningful outcomes.
โChiefs are not mandated by any legal provision to lead such a political process,โ read a petition filed by ZAPU before the July launch last year.
In October 2022, the National Chiefs Council launched their operating manual in two volumes: Volume One which outlines how the chiefs arrived at this stage since their appointment in 2021, while Volume Two will guide how they will conduct engagement meetings and gather input from the affected communities.
As they handed over the manuals to President Mnangagwa in Bulawayo, Chief Fortune Charumbira who was president of the National Chiefs Council then and is now the deputy president, dismissed criticism of their role in solving the Gukurahundi genocide saying they were up for the task.
The manual on community consultative meetings on the Gukurahundi genocide also sets parameters on who can attend hearings to be presided over by traditional chiefs.
Chiefs have been advised to engage people who live under that chiefโs jurisdiction, not outsiders living outside the community.
The composition of the panel should consist, but will not be limited to the following members: the chief as chairperson of the panel, other traditional leaders such as headman and village head, members of the secretariat, chiefโs aides (messengers), religious leaders, a member of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (ZINATHA), women, counsellors, elders in the chiefโs court and chosen community elders, as stated in Section eight of the manual.
During the official launch in July last year, Chief Charumbira also revealed that the Gukurahundi Outreach Programme was President Mnangagwaโs personal project, which he was rolling out with the assistance of chiefs.
Chief Charumbira also said previous national healing and reconciliation initiatives to resolve Gukurahundi failed because they were not locally focused, whereas the current initiative will succeed because it is led by chiefs.
โWe should remember this is not the first initiative since independence to endeavor to resolve or put closure to the Gukurahundi issues,โ he said.
The chief cited the Chihambakwe Commission, whose report was never made public by the government, the Gukurahundi Compensation Commission โ led by a former magistrate, the late Johnson Mkandla, the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), and other initiatives led by civil society and religious organisations, all of which failed to make progress.