The Sunday News
Vincent Gono, News Editor
THE Gukurahundi episode has been an emotive chapter in the country’s history that has refused to go under even after exposure to winds of time that often have an amazing ability to erase memories, hate, and pain, much so because it had not been put in the public domain.
And because of the veil of secrecy that had remained around the subject, it was open to abuse by malicious individuals with doses of truths, half-truths and outright lies being fed to the public where no one bothered as to the cost of that tight lid on a subject that had the potential of perpetually dividing the country along ethnic lines.
It was only after the inception of the Second Republic that the topic became an open one to the public with bold and sincere steps taken to heal the nation of its historical past.
Borrowing from iconic Pan-African philosopher Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, he once opined that those that are politically and intellectually bankrupt turn to ethnicity and religion as their major tool for mobilisation. And true to his observation, for many years after independence, the country was living in political apprehension.
Each time the country approaches elections, emotions were whipped, old wounds opened anew to evoke, reawaken and conjure up feelings of hatred that divide the country along ethnic lines.
The frigid relic of the emotive Gukurahundi episode has been brought forth several times holding the country captive to an unfortunate historical epoch that has somehow been kept locked in the cabins as an emotional souvenir for political use at a convenient time by malevolent forces.
Although various rational narratives have been offered in different fora as much as in political literature to unpack the forces behind the political conflict beyond what are ordinary, rudimentary narratives that are bare of logic have been pushed to fan the flames of hate, hurt, tribal detestation, and general division all of which are anathema to unity.
The Second Republic has however, lifted the cloud of political anxiety over the subject that was previously discussed in hushed tones to bring it into the public sphere where it became part of the village beer-drinking or kombi discussion.
The previous Government never really calculated the cost of keeping a tight lid on the topic but it had a net effect that the victims were forced to keep the pain and gory experiences to themselves where it manifested in tribal hatred as it was fermenting and imploding.
People kept silent, but the silence did not mean peace. It was a lack of freedom to express themselves hence the pain festered because there was no closure.
The Second Republic showed sincerity by not only giving communities the voice to speak out their emotions, but it also sought to address poverty and perceived marginalisation concerns through actualisation of the Constitutional provision on devolution.
This also became one of the biggest blows to opposition political parties that have for far too long held on to the Gukurahundi chapter and marginalisation as part of their political capital.
They would read the emotive chapter to the people and they would connect it with the various national challenges and present themselves as the political Messiahs. And because the subject is emotive, it appealed much to people’s feelings and it became a political trump card of oppositional parties both in and out of the region.
The opening up of the sad episode for deliberations at the community and national level and the steps so far taken have therefore taken the stamina from so many oppositional political parties, pressure groups, and malefic forces that had been riding on the topic. This was not done for free as the subject had become monetised.
The Second Republic has however, taken charge of the issue and given it to the grassroots where traditional leaders structures are pioneering the Gukurahundi hearings that are set to begin in the first quarter of the year.
To show its sincerity, various trainings have been concluded and National Chiefs Council President Chief Mtshane Khumalo told Sunday News in an interview recently that all was in place for the hearings to begin.
He said the steps so far taken by the Government demonstrate commitment to dealing with the issue and bringing closure to the affected communities.
“I wouldn’t say people are excited because we haven’t started the hearings yet to gauge the mood from within the communities. It’s an emotional issue that needed closure and I am happy with the Government efforts,” he said.
He said it was good that the traditional leaders were leading the process which he believed would make the communities more at ease in dealing with the issues.
Chief Mtshane said the Government demonstrated sincerity when it initiated the mobile registration exercise in communities that were disturbed by the historical chapter.
“That was an important exercise that took into account that there was going to be no development if people do not have national registration documents. The first thing for planning purposes is to know the number of people you are planning for and that can only be possible if those communities are registered.
“It followed that up by bringing various development projects in the areas to close the marginalisation gap. And I am hopeful that the outcome will be reflective of the efforts that have been put in place to move past this issue,” he said.
Political analyst Dr Gift Gwindingwe said it was unfortunate that Gukurahundi had been hijacked by pseudo-democrats and repackaged to entrench regionalism and stall fruitful and non-emotional dialogue.
“But overall, the Second Republic should be lauded for closing out mercenaries by openly engaging the affected communities to find each other and heal the wounds. The engagement of traditional leaders and all other important stakeholders is a positive step to unpack and iron out whatever the differences and to redress the situation,” he added.
Dr Gwindingwe submitted that the discourse on Gukurahundi must not be fast-tracked to satisfy divisive elements, but should be done with detailed discipline to yield results for the good of Zimbabwe, not a particular region, not a particular political movement, and not a particular master.
