Zimbabwe Genocide - Petition and Distribution

The Petition as physically delivered to The UK Prime Minister; Sir Keir Starmer, the UK FCDO and the Commonwealth Secretariat, is available as a PDF at these links to these multiple web addresses – in case of issues with web access. We should like you to re-examine this period in Zimbabwe's history to see who the guilty are within their current administration. To seek support for justice of those who have died, been injured/maimed and/or raped and displaced/disenfranchised.

On the 22nd December 2024 it will signify 37 years since the 'ending' of this Genocide - by the signing of a "Unity Accord" although the Zanu PF quest for a One-Party-State continues - as do the State ordered abductions, murders, rapes, disenfranchisement, looting and false imprisonment!!

Gukurahundi and Genocide Matters

Michael Sibangilizwe Nkomo: President of ZAPU

The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) [and the International Association of Genocide Scholars] estimated that over 20,000 people lost their lives, but their figure was conservative as it covered one district in Matabeleland North (Tsholotsho) and another in Matabeleland South (Matobo). Midlands Province as a whole was not considered. By all definitions, a genocide was committed by the ZANU-led government of Zimbabwe using primarily the Fifth Brigade which was directly answerable to the then Prime Minister, Robert Gabriel Mugabe, and no one else. The Fifth Brigade was created solely for Gukurahundi and disbanded with the signing of the Unity Accord on 22 December 1987. Members of the Fifth Brigade were integrated into regular army units with many of them posing as gallant veterans of the liberation struggle, promoted and decorated by their Commander-in-Chief.

Under the five-year Gukurahundi quasi-military operation, thousands of innocent people lost their lives; thousands of women were raped and some pregnant ones had their wombs ripped open using bayonets because they were said to be carrying dissidents; thousands of people were buried alive and others were thrown dead or alive into disused mines shafts such as the former Antelope Gold Mine at Bhalagwe in Mapisa under Matobo district; livestock were senselessly killed and stokes decimated; some people were tortured and maimed; homesteads and property were destroyed, food was denied to the affected region leading prevalent malnutrition; school children were denied education; people were displaced; some were forcefully abducted and disappeared; to this day, thousands more remain unaccounted for. For the five years of the operation all economic and developmental activities ceased in the affected areas.

ZAPU desires that the Gukurahundi saga should be resolved and put behind us collectively as a nation once and for posterity. This is a political issue and people want answers as to why Gukurahundi happened. People want to know why they were hunted like rabid wild animals and treated the way they were in a country for which they had fought so hard and sacrificed to liberate. The onus rests squarely at the doors of the Zimbabwe central government {the occupation of Parliament in name only} and responsibility in resolving Gukurahundi grievances cannot be delegated or relegated to the local Chiefs.

ZAPU is very alive to the fact that the "government" of Zimbabwe is effectively buying time; is dishonest and not serious about finding closure to this festering wound caused by Gukurahundi. What happened to ZAPU, its leaders, members, supporters, followers and sympathisers in the wake and aftermath of Gukurahundi should not be allowed to happen again to anyone or any organization in Zimbabwe now or in the future.

Taken from https://zapu.org/gukurahundi-and-genocide-matters

By Michael Sibangilizwe Nkomo: President of ZAPU

Ngozi - The shadow of Gukurahundi

A Further Commentary by ZAPU

Little has been said about the impact of Gukurahundi on the perpetrators of the Ndebele Genocide that occurred between 1983 and 1987. It was a horrific 5 years of wanton bloodletting punctuated by rape and mass disposal of bodies in shallow graves. The full scope of terror unleashed by Shona soldiers against unarmed Ndebele civilians has not been documented enough but survivors’ and eyewitness accounts paint a grim picture of human evil. There has to be a special place with extra heat in hell reserved for perpetrators of the Ndebele Genocide and the Jewish Holocaust. Gukurahundi was an act of ethnic cleansing masterminded by Robert Gabriel Mugabe (1924-2019).

There are men walking freely today in Zimbabwe who took part in the Ndebele Genocide. Many of them were not even following any particular orders when they raped Ndebele girls and women. Some used the bayonets affixed to their assault rifles to rip open the bellies of pregnant Ndebele women in order to kill “future dissidents” growing in the wombs. In general there were no rules of engagement during the quasi-military operation carried out by the North Korean-trained 5th Brigade, operationally codenamed Gukurahundi Brigade. Exclusively made up of Shona soldiers, the Gukurahundi Brigade swept across Matabeleland and parts of Midlands Provinces, murdering, raping and torturing hapless civilians accused of being ZPRA dissidents or supporting the same.

The primary qualification for annihilation by the Gukurahundi Brigade was being a Ndebele native, with little or no command of the Shona language. Being a ZPRA ex-combatant or supporting ZAPU was also another litmus test for torture and subsequent execution. Girls and women were randomly selected for rape without protection. Many were repeatedly raped and in some cases by the same perpetrator. That is how some perpetrators are known by name and face by their traumatized victims. Records of the exact names and ranks of members of the Gukurahundi Brigade are kept somewhere by the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA). Someone, somewhere knows exactly who did what and where. With enough pressure this classified information can be obtained.

The Shona people have a strong belief in the concept of ngozi (avenging spirits). The belief is so strong that even murders committed decades ago without any witness are revealed through the use of spirit mediums who channel the voice of the victim or deceased perpetrator. Skeletons have been identified through the use of spirit mediums and other seers. In the spiritual realm all Shona people are collectively culpable for the Ndebele Genocide. If your father, uncle or brother was a member of the Gukurahundi Brigade you have direct ngozi against your lineage. If your relative was a soldier in the ZNA between 1982 and 1990, chances are high they were members of the Gukurahundi Brigade and raped or murdered innocent civilians. The Ndebele blood spilled by your kith and kin is crying from the ground. It demands justice and reparations.

Restorative justice for the Ndebele Genocide requires practical steps that cannot be implemented by the perpetrators of the atrocities. The first step is to constitute a truth and reconciliation commission that will declassify all documents held by the army in as far as Gukurahundi is concerned. Names, ranks and deployments must be revealed in detail. The full list of Mugabe’s cabinet ministers and the security command that enabled Gukurahundi must be published. Perpetrators in high offices must be relieved of their duties and stripped of their immunity from prosecution. Even deceased perpetrators like Robert Gabriel Mugabe, Solomon Mujuru (1949-2011) and Perrance “Black Jesus” Shiri (1955-2020) must be brought to trial represented by executors of their estates. Their vast assets anywhere in the world must be frozen and forfeited to a “Gukurahundi Victims Compensation Fund.”

The perpetrators of Gukurahundi must all be prosecuted by a special tribunal like the one which handled the 1994 Rwandan Genocide under the International Criminal Court. Locally they must also perform acts of penance prescribed by traditional leaders through consultation with spirit mediums. Families of perpetrators must pay the requisite tokens needed to appease the spirits of the dead who perished in pain. The 22 December “Unity Day” holiday must be officially repurposed to mourn the victims of the Ndebele Genocide. On that day every Zimbabwean should wear black to mark the darkest chapter of our tortured history. No music should be played on local radio and television as Zimbabweans use that one sombre day to introspect. The preamble of our national constitution must be amended to acknowledge the Ndebele Genocide and clearly state in words like “never again” to declare that there will be no repeat of genocide against any ethnic group in Zimbabwe.

Additionally, traditional cleansing ceremonies must be conducted countrywide to appease the tormented Ndebele spirits while giving the Shona people a chance to confess and atone for “our sins.” The national cleansing efforts must be coupled with devolution of power in order for the people of Matabeleland to determine the trajectory of their own development. Matabeleland as a region should enjoy a high level of political autonomy and economic growth free from central control. Roads named after Gukurahundi perpetrators such as Mugabe must be renamed after any victim of the Ndebele Genocide. A Gukurahundi Memorial Museum (GMM) must be established in Bulawayo where Zimbabweans and the whole world can see for themselves relics from the Ndebele Genocide. Photographs and biographies of victims or survivors of the genocide must be displayed at the GMM.

The international community should also assist Zimbabweans to dialogue around Gukurahundi issues. Petitions by Zimbabweans in exile and friends of Zimbabwe such as the Zimbabwe Human Rights Organization and Amnesty International must continue to keep the Gukurahundi issue topical. One day it must be discussed at the United nations General Assembly in full view of the world leaders present and global audiences tuned in. Plays, films, art exhibitions, investigative reports and books on Gukurahundi must be funded by donor agencies and development partners in the global family of nations. Again, global speaking tours must be facilitated for Gukurahundi scholars and activists calling for justice.

Above all, victims of the Ndebele Genocide must be united and organised into a closely knit fraternity. The “Gukurahundi Survivors Forum” must unite for collective bargaining and corroborating witness accounts to help in the identification of shallow graves. Members of the “GSF” can piece together their recollections to explain the fate of some victims who disappeared without a trace. Ultimately, survivors of Gukurahundi must receive lifelong compensation just like veterans of the liberation struggle. Apparently, these remedial steps cannot be taken by the ZANU PF regime in Harare. There has to be regime change in Zimbabwe first in order for genuine restorative justice for Gukurahundi to occur. Thankfully, with the resurgence of ZAPU (the mother party), there is hope on the horizon. Longsuffering Zimbabweans shall know a new birth of freedom and Gukurahundi victims will finally get justice under a ZAPU-led, people-driven government.

By Richard Gandari ZAPU Secretary for Information

The Ndebele Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Humanity Against the Ndebele Nation,

(Locally and Colloquially referred to as ‘Gukurahundi’)

We who subscribe to the principles of democracy and The Rule of Law recognise and accept that currently in the republic of Zimbabwe there is no sitting government but rather an administration. That is the ZANU PF Administration. This is because the electorate of Zimbabwe in the last election of 2023 did not give ZANU PF the electoral mandate to form a government.

With great regret ZANU PF, through the force of arms, took control of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

This state of affairs was and is, recognised by SADC, AU, EU, UN and many other international organisations. Hence, we can only but refer to them as the ZANU PF Administration and no more.

On the 5th December 2024 we handed in a petition to the United Kingdom Prime Minister at 10 Downing Street about The Ndebele Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity, committed by ZANU PF against the Ndebele Nation. This petition on the same day was also electronically sent to other international organisations and other countries.

To date the ZANU PF administration has not used the proper legal definition of what they committed against the Ndebele Nation between 1983 - 1987 as The Ndebele Genocide, War Crimes against the Nation and Crimes against Humanity. Rather the ZANU PF administration have chosen to white wash these crimes by calling them, “Gukurahundi”, “Disturbances”, “A moment of madness”, “events”, “occurrences”, “issues”, “challenges”. With the hope that they may extricate themselves from the gravity of the crimes they have committed.

To this end the ZANU PF administration has and continues to try to white-wash these crimes. They continue to try to disturb the shallow graves of their victims and to scatter as much evidence. Recently they tried to coerce the relatives of the murdered victims to lead them to the shallow graves, with a promise of legal exhumation of these graves. Of late the ZANU PF administration endeavoured to get Chiefs to lead the process with the hope that the relatives of the murdered victims may reveal to the Chiefs the whereabouts of the shallow graves. With intent to once again scatter the evidence.

Without hesitation we completely reject these efforts by the ZANU PF administration. For they are an affront to basic law as we all know it. No matter how much public relations the ZANU PF administration may seek to employ in ‘white-washing’ these heinous crimes, we remain focused in seeking justice for these crimes.

They are not dead who live in our hearts.

Indeed, the time is always right to do what is right. The geopolitical world has changed and now presents realistic possibilities of how we can seek justice for the Ndebele nation. No longer do we have to wait for the ZANU PF administration to do the right thing. For it does not require many words to speak the truth. It is now no longer far-fetched to envisage international arrest warrants being issued for those responsible for the Ndebele Genocide, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity. In this regard we will find that country or countries that will sponsor such actions as they are assisted by the international arena.

Justice delayed is Justice denied. And Justice must not only be done but it must be seen to be done.

This Ndebele Genocide, War Crimes Against the Ndebele Nation and Crimes Against Humanity petition forms part of the process of embedding this document into any future international engagements the world may wish to have with the ZANU PF administration. In a similar manner, as The Anti-Apartheid Campaign became embedded into all the engagements the world did with the then Apartheid government of the Republic of South Africa. And by coincidence it is the current South African government that takes the state of Israel to the ICC in the Hague, for genocide against the Palestinians.

Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy as we witness the Commonwealth discussing the possibility of the ZANU PF administration being readmitted into its fold. For ZANU PF has completely and utterly decimated democracy in Zimbabwe, since it left the Commonwealth, those many years ago. The Commonwealth must make it a condition for the ZANU PF administration, for the Ndebele Genocide, War Crimes Against the Ndebele Nation and Crimes Against Humanity, to have been addressed through a judicial process in the international arena and preferably at the Hague. It is important to make the distinction here. It was ZANU PF that stormed out of the Commonwealth. It was not the people of Zimbabwe that stormed out.

For the people of Zimbabwe have continued with cordial relationships with the Commonwealth, in the exclusion of the ZANU PF administration. As evidence for this assertion we note the over eight million Zimbabweans now living in Commonwealth countries. We note over forty thousand health professionals from Zimbabwe in the National Health Service of the United Kingdom. It is evident that the ordinary Zimbabwean has no regard for the ZANU PF administration. Another major condition for ZANU PF administration being readmitted back into the Commonwealth must be the Zimbabwean Diaspora Vote. For the over eight million Zimbabweans living in the diaspora have been denied their Human Right to vote during Zimbabwean elections by the ZANU PF administration. This is wrong. Yet we observe the ZANU PF administration being very jubilant indeed in announcing that within a few months, this Zimbabwean diaspora community had sent back to Zimbabwe in remittances over USD $ 1.9 Billion. Yet the diaspora is denied their Human Right to take part in any plebiscites in Zimbabwe.

It does not require many words to speak the truth.

Ndebele Genocide, War Crimes Against the Ndebele Nation and Crimes Against Humanity all committed by ZANU PF through the 5th Brigade resulted in;-

• Over 100,000 women and girls raped
• Over 350, 000 injured and maimed for life Between 25,000 – 40,000 murdered and slaughtered. Amnesty International places the figure at above 40,000 +
• Over 1 million displaced

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. Silence in the face of injustice places humanity at a disadvantage. For in the end we will not remember the words of our adversaries but we will remember the “silence” of our friends.

We cannot, must not, should not be silent about “The Ndebele Genocide”, War Crimes against the Ndebele Nation and Crimes Against Humanity.

Chief (Inkosi) Felix Nhlanhla Ndiweni

Terminology Obfuscation

Human Rights Perspective

Gukurahundi: Upon reading some of the material, and from our evidence gathered - it is apparent to us that the term “Gukurahundi” fails to portray the absolute horrors of that genocide - the hunting down and brutal torture, murder of children, women and men folk by deranged psychopaths - all upon the orders of Mugabe and Mnangagwa.

The term itself has been framed as an almost poetic “moment of madness” (Mugabe’s cynical words). This period wrought incomprehensible brutality that we in the West, and within the British Establishment can never fully understand.

That period within Zimbabwe from 1983-1987 cannot be ignored, cannot be cured with “an apology” - it requires JUSTICE - because some of the perpetrators of that unimaginable genocide are alive today and within the current regime. Like the “Sword of Damocles” - it is still there - still an aberration - yet to see Justice.

No, Gukurahundi is not the correct description; it is from the same depraved psychosis that started this horrific genocide itself. It needs a new, fully descriptive terminology, one that we cannot yet construct in our minds

John Burke Founder: Zimbabwe Human Rights Organisation - ZHRO

A ‘Late-Come’r to the Genocide in Zimbabwe