ZAPU petitions ED to stop Gukurahundi hearings

0Shares

The opposition ZAPU party has petitioned President Emmerson Mnangagwa to immediately halt the Gukurahundi hearings, arguing that the process is flawed, exclusive, and divisive.

In the petition, ZAPU representatives John Zolani Dlamini and Patron Nketha Kutshwekaya stated that the Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme, which is scheduled to be launched by President Mnangagwa in Bulawayo this Sunday, is “ill-advised and ill-conceived”.

The petitioners cited several concerns, including the divisive nature of the programme and the exclusion of Midlands chiefs, one of the provinces affected by the Gukurahundi massacres, from the process.

ZAPU has argued that the Gukurahundi hearings, as currently structured, are flawed and do not adequately address the needs and concerns of the affected communities. The party has called for a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to addressing the legacy of the Gukurahundi atrocities. Reads part of the petition:

Chiefs are not mandated by any legal provision to lead such a political process, indeed your gentleman’s agreement with the traditional leaders derives no force of the law.

The neutrality of the chiefs as a body has been questioned by the stakeholders and as such there is no guarantee that your process will achieve any tangible results.

Our agreement with the Matabeleland Collective has no legal backing and this organisation derives no mandate to negotiate on behalf of the people most affected by the hostilities.

Your initiative leaves out the Midlands area, yet it is a known fact that the province also bore the brunt of the hostilities.

Such an approach does not promote equality and discrimination among those in the same position.

There is presently no assurance that the results from this chiefs-led process will result in action that promotes a healing process and closure.

Such an open-ended process runs the risk of opening up wounds resulting in a cycle of hurt and pain once more.

The petitioners also said President Mnangagwa’s initiative ignores ZAPU and ZPRA as organisations and entities that were directly affected by Gukurahundi at that pertinent time.

The petitioners urged President Mnangagwa to engage with ZAPU and ZPRA representatives on the “correct” initiative that will involve all stakeholders and allow representatives of the people in the affected areas, including Members of Parliament, to participate.

Meanwhile, President Mnangagwa arrived in Bulawayo earlier on Sunday to officially launch the Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme, despite the concerns raised by ZAPU.