Thirty-eight years after the signing of the 1987 Unity Accord, the deeper aspirations of reconciliation, inclusion and national cohesion it promised remain largely unfulfilled, with Zimbabwe still fractured along enduring fault lines of tribalism, nepotism, cronyism and regionalism.
December 22 is officially commemorated as Unity Day, marking the agreement between the late Vice President Dr Joshua Nkomo’s PF ZAPU and the ruling Zanu PF, a pact that ended the violent Gukurahundi conflict in Matabeleland and parts of Midlands in the early years of independence.
While the accord succeeded in ending the violence, critics argue that it failed to translate peace at leadership level into lived unity for ordinary citizens.
National Chairman of a faction of the Zimbabwe National Liberation War Veterans Association, Ethan Mathibela, said the day should be a moment of honest reflection rather than ceremonial celebration.
“December 22 is a commemoration of the Unity Accord of 1987, a pivotal moment in the history of Zimbabwe, which calls upon us not only to remember an agreement signed on paper, but to reflect on its meaning, its achievements, and the work that remains unfinished,” Mathibela said.
“At its core, the Unity Accord affirmed a fundamental truth: that the strength of Zimbabwe lies in the unity of all its citizens. Unity is not uniformity, nor is it silence about history. It is the conscious decision to coexist, to respect one another’s dignity, and to pursue national progress together despite past divisions.”
Mathibela acknowledged that one of the accord’s most significant achievements was the cessation of open hostilities.
“One of the most significant outcomes of the Unity Accord was the cessation of physical hostilities in the Matabeleland and Midlands regions. The silencing of the guns brought relief to communities that had endured fear, displacement, and loss,” he said, adding that the agreement remains “an important milestone in preserving national cohesion.”
However, he said peace alone did not amount to justice or equality.
“Honesty compels us to acknowledge that while the Unity Accord achieved peace, some of its deeper aspirations are yet to be fully realised,” Mathibela said.
He argued the accord was largely implemented at elite political level, with former PF ZAPU leaders absorbed into government, while their broader constituencies remained excluded.
“The Accord was implemented primarily at leadership level. Yet the broader constituencies they represented, including former PF ZAPU cadres and ZPRA combatants, did not always experience meaningful inclusion in governance, decision-making, or national development in the spirit envisaged by unity and reconciliation,” he said.
According to Mathibela, many former ZIPRA combatants and communities linked to PF ZAPU continued to face marginalisation, economic hardship and limited representation long after the accord was signed.
“True unity requires that representation be felt not only at the top, but across institutions and within everyday national life,” he said.
He also pointed to unresolved material and economic grievances, including confiscated ZIPRA properties and assets that were never adequately addressed.
“The restoration or fair resolution of such matters would have gone a long way in building trust, healing wounds, and affirming that reconciliation is both symbolic and practical,” Mathibela said.
He stressed that raising these issues should not be seen as reopening old wounds.
“It is an appeal to conscience, memory, and national maturity. Unity is strengthened when a nation is able to reflect honestly on its past and address outstanding injustices with fairness and compassion,” he said.
Mathibela called on current and future leaders to pursue balanced development, fair representation and restorative justice, warning that reconciliation must be treated as an ongoing national responsibility rather than a closed chapter.
A far more critical assessment came from ZAPU National Spokesperson Richard Gandari, who dismissed Unity Day commemorations as political theatre masking deep national divisions.
“December 22 is 38 years since the momentous signing of the Unity Accord between ZAPU and Zanu which resulted in what was supposedly a united Zanu PF,” Gandari said.
He said Dr Nkomo entered the accord under extreme pressure to stop state-sponsored violence.
“Motivated by the need to end the bloodletting sponsored by the state, our founding President, Dr Joshua Nkomo, led ZAPU into the Unity Accord with a heavy heart,” Gandari said, quoting Nkomo’s warning to party members: “Enter into this Unity Accord, albeit under duress, but eventually come out without blemish.”
Gandari said ZAPU remained within Zanu PF for 22 years before withdrawing in 2009 to revive the party.
“Today’s commemoration of the Unity Accord of 1987 is a desperate attempt by the Zanu PF regime to hide behind the human shield of our disciplined party,” he said. “There was never any national unity established through the Unity Accord of 1987.”
According to Gandari, Zimbabwe remains deeply divided.
“The nation remains divided along several fault lines. Tribalism, nepotism, cronyism and regionalism continue to plague Zimbabwe from Plumtree to Chimanimani,” he said.
He described Unity Day as “a self-serving ploy” by the ruling party to project a façade of cohesion while inequalities deepen.
“A small clique of connected elites now enjoys access to excess on the back of state capture, corruption and tenderpreneurship, while the vast majority of Zimbabweans wallow in abject poverty,” Gandari said.
He accused “polarising figures” of deliberately fuelling disunity to weaken opposition and silence dissent, arguing that Unity Day functions as “a central cog in the ruling party’s propaganda machine.”
“There is nothing sincere about Zanu PF’s lip service to unity,” Gandari said, urging Zimbabweans to build solidarity at community level instead.
Leave a comment