Zapu vice-president Emelia Mukarakatirwa last Friday challenged perpetrators of the 1980s’ Gukurahundi massacres and those responsible for the region’s economic marginalisation to own up and pave way for reconciliation.
Addressing a public meeting jointly organised by Masakhaneni Project Trust and Ibhetshu Likazulu in Bulawayo last Friday, Mukarakatirwa said efforts aimed at healing the wounds of the past were bound to come to naught if perpetrators of the massacres did not publicly apologise and table any compensation offer.
“People must open up and take responsibility for what they did. They must own up and apologise to their victims and if compensation can be worked out, let it be,” she said.
The only time President Robert Mugabe came close to opening up on the 1983–1987 army operation was in July 1999 at the burial of Vice-President Joshua Nkomo when he described the era as “a moment of madness”.
However, since then the issue has sparked a storm with other Zanu PF officials, including Defence minister Emmerson Mnangagwa and Bulawayo Metropolitan governor Cain Mathema, dismissing it as a closed chapter, while civic society groups and the MDCs have been calling for a fresh probe and prosecution of the perpetrators.
The groups have also demanded compensation for the victims.
Enos Nkala, a founding Zanu PF member who was Defence minister then, has denied responsibility for the atrocities that claimed an estimated 20 000 people from Midlands and Matabeleland regions.
Mukarakatirwa said while Zimbabwe was a unitary State, citizens in regions like Matabeleland and Masvingo had been reduced to playing second fiddle due to government’s unequal distribution of resources.
- Chamisa under fire over US$120K donation
- Mavhunga puts DeMbare into Chibuku quarterfinals
- Pension funds bet on Cabora Bassa oilfields
- Councils defy govt fire tender directive
Keep Reading
“We are not saying we are a divided country as some of you might interpret it, but look at it in another sense. If only one region of the country is being improved, and if for one to be appointed or promoted in the civil service they need to have a long surname, what is that?
“Devolution of power is the answer to the unfairness that has been happening for the past 32 years in this country,” she said.
