BULAWAYO – The secrecy surrounding the government-initiated Gukurahundi public hearings could yield a flawed outcome, according to Ibhetshu Likazulu, a local pressure group.
Traditional chiefs last week began convening meetings where victims of the 1980s mass killings in Matabeleland and Midlands are expected to testify.
It remains unclear what President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government wants out of the process, but a decision to bar journalists from the meetings has raised fears of a whitewash.
“The Gukurahundi chiefs-led process has commenced and we are still advocating for media involvement to ensure transparency. For this process to be credible it must be inclusive and involve all stakeholders,” Ibhetshu Likazulu said in a statement.
The group also said hearings must not leave out victims from the Midlands, Bulawayo and those now living outside the country.
“Without that, the process remains flawed,” it said.
Ibhetshu Likazulu said a credible process should also take on the views of perpetrators.
The group added: “We call for the promotion of memorisation. Following the process, we urge for a declaration of a national day of mourning in honour of the victims of Gukurahundi.”
Rights groups say over 20,000 civilians were killed and thousands more displaced when the Zanu PF government deployed troops in Matabeleland in 1983 to quell what they said was a dissident rebellion by elements of the liberation war movement, ZPRA.
The government appointed the Chihambakwe Commission of Inquiry to investigate the atrocities but its report was never made public, and the present government say it cannot find copies of it.
Not many people have faith that the chiefs-led process currently underway will deliver the truth, or bring them closer to justice.
The post Gukurahundi hearings secrecy will deliver flawed outcome, group warns appeared first on Zimbabwe News Now.