Beyond commitments

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has said his government is committed to resolving the thorny Gukurahundi issue, with public hearings set to begin to find closure to the country’s darkest chapter since independence from colonial rule in 1980.

The massacre of people in Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces remains unresolved since the five-year killing spree by the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade, which claimed over 20 000 lives, according to independent estimates.

The scars have not healed.

“Through various mechanisms, including initiatives led by our traditional leaders and communities, we are addressing the Gukurahundi issue,” Mnangagwa said at the burial of national hero Retired Lieutenant Colonel Kenny Ridzai Mabuya at the National Heroes Acre in Harare on Thursday.

Mnangagwa said his administration is driving efforts to “find closure and healing for the scars from the disturbances that characterised the early years of our independence”.

Unlike his predecessor the late former President Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa has moved to resolve one of the most vexing issues.

Be that as it may, there is no need to rush the process so that the government dots the i’s and crosses the t’s.

We have failed to do this process since the signing of the Unity Accord 36 years ago.

The process needs the seriousness it deserves. Last month, Chief Mathema of Matabeleland South urged citizens and government not to treat the emotive Gukurahundi as a small issue.

According to the traditional leader, it will take several years to bring the issue to closure.

There are indications that the government wants the matter to be resolved within a year.

“We need the voice of the victim and that of the perpetrator. There should be a proper budget with actual figures. We cannot say the process will take a year when there are so many issues around it such as abductions, killings, rape, forced disappearances and exhumations. This is not a small issue, it can take maybe 10 years because there are also other people who are in the diaspora who still fear to come back home because of what they experienced,” Chief Mathema said.

Critics say the Mnangagwa administration can show its seriousness in resolving the Gukurahundi issue by releasing the findings of the Chihambakwe and Dumbutshena commissions.

There are also suggestions for the administration to adopt the Rwandan model in which community courts were set up to try cases after the genocide.

In 2005, Rwanda re-established traditional community courts to try genocide perpetrators.

Under the Gacaca system, communities at the local level elected judges to hear the trials of genocide suspects accused of all crimes except planning of genocide.

The courts gave lower sentences if the person was repentant and sought reconciliation with the community. Often, confessing prisoners returned home without further penalty or received community service orders.

More than 12 000 community-based courts tried more than 1,2 million cases throughout the country. According to the United Nations (UN), the Gacaca trials also served to promote reconciliation by providing a means for victims to learn the truth about the death of their family members and relatives.

They also gave perpetrators the opportunity to confess to their crimes, show remorse and ask for forgiveness in front of their communities, the UN said.

The system was seen as a success in that it dealt with 1,2 million cases at a cost of US$25 million. This, according to the Rwandan government, was an achievement considering that the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda tried 58 cases at a cost of over US$2 billion.

Mnangagwa must go beyond commitments and ensure all the critical stakeholders are involved for the emotive Gukurahundi issue to be resolved.