Be sensitive about Gukurahundi, media told
THE media has been urged to conduct itself in a professional manner when reporting on the Gukurahundi public hearings being led by traditional leaders who have been tasked to address the 1980s mass killings.
There was widespread torture, rape and other sexual offences committed during the orgy of army murders which claimed over 20 000 lives and marked a dark chapter in the country’s history.
Traditional leaders initially wanted journalists barred from covering the hearings under unclear circumstances, but journalists protested.
Speaking during a Gukurahundi media sensitisation breakfast meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe Media Commission (ZMC) executive secretary Godwin Phiri urged journalists to be sensitive in their reporting.
“As media, we are recognising how the process is to the people of Midlands and Matabeleland in issues of Gukurahundi. The media needs to play a role in amplifying the process and also help citizens in finding closure,” Phiri said.
“The media must conduct itself in the highest ethical manner in terms of professionalism since this is a very sensitive issue. People want to tell their story in a manner which enables them to speak and find closure.”
A technical committee bringing together journalists from the State and private media as well as fact checkers was recently set up in Bulawayo to draft a code of conduct for journalists covering the hearings.
This will be the first time public hearings on Gukurahundi will be held in public without police and State disruptions.
Police are known for disrupting meetings on Gukurahundi in what critics often say is an attempt to sweep the matter under the carpet.
Suspected Zanu PF and State agents have been accused of vandalising Gukuruhandi memorial plaques mounted on mass graves of victims.
“The worst that we can do as the media is to promote fake news, push false narratives, to distort the stories that our people want to tell. ZMC will be conducting a process of training journalists on how to report in a conflict sensitive environment,” Phiri added.
National police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi urged the media to be responsible when reporting on the Gukurahundi massacres.
“We want to ensure that any activity that is conducted has an aspect of peace and also the issue of ensuring that people will not use social media to cause alarm and to divide the people,” he said.