Genocide Watch
Genocide Watch; calls for prosecution of Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe for genocide
Washington, DC and Capetown, South Africa
16 September 2010
Genocide Watch, Chair of the International Campaign to End Genocide, based in Washington, DC and Capetown, South Africa, today called for prosecution of President Robert Mugabe and other Zimbabwean leaders for genocide and crimes against humanity for the “Gukurahundi,” the mass murder of over 20,000 Matabele citizens of Zimbabwe in 1983 and 1984.
“There is no statute of limitations for genocide or crimes against humanity,” said Dr. Gregory Stanton, President of Genocide Watch. “We campaigned for over thirty years to bring the leaders of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia to justice for genocide and crimes against humanity, and they are finally on trial. We call upon the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to conduct a full investigation of the Gukurahundi, with the aim of establishing a mixed UN – Zimbabwean Tribunal to put Mugabe and his co-perpetrators on trial for their crimes. They think they have gotten away with mass murder. It is time to end such impunity in Zimbabwe.”
Genocide is a special crime against humanity, because it must be intentionally carried out against a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group. The Gukurahundi meets the definition of genocide because it was carried out by the North-Korean trained, exclusively Shona Fifth Brigade under President Mugabe and it targeted ethnic Matabele people. Shona youth militias, the notorious “green bombers,” also participated in the genocide. These militias still exist, like neo-Nazi groups, and conduct terror campaigns against opponents of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF in election campaigns. General Constantine Chiwanga, Commander of the Zimbabwe Army, and Sidney Sekeramayi, Minister of Defense, were senior officers directly involved in the 1983-84 genocide.
Because the Gukurahundi occurred before establishment of the International Criminal Court, the ICC would not have jurisdiction over the genocide. But a mixed UN – Zimbabwean Criminal Tribunal could be created, like the one established in Cambodia, to try Mugabe and other leaders of the genocide. That would require defeat of the ZANU-PF regime in the next election. Mugabe’s ZANU-PF has stolen the last two elections, but may lose the next one since they have destroyed Zimbabwe’s economy and have many opponents among both Shona and Matabele groups. Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, President of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, is himself Shona.
Detailed reports on the Gukurahundi published by the Catholic Commission of Justice and Peace in 1997 thoroughly document the Gukurahundi genocide, and subsequent reports by the African Commission for Human and People’s Rights of the African Union have strongly condemned President Mugabe for abusing his people’s human rights “ with impunity.”
“The time for justice has come,” said Dr. Stanton. “Mugabe’s reign of terror is near its end.”
For Immediate release.
Contact: Dr. Gregory H. Stanton
President, Genocide Watch
POB 809,
Washington, DC 20044
Phone: 1-703-448-0222
E-mail:
https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-watch-country-report-zimbabwe
Updated Report:
4th August 2021
Genocide Country Report: Zimbabwe by Laura Drysdale {CLICK HERE to Read or Download}
A soldier trained his weapon during the 2018 election protests. Zinyange Auntony/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Between 1983 and 1987, the Fifth Brigade of the Zimbabwe National Army killed more than 20,000 ethnic Ndebele civilians in Matabeleland and Midlands. Thousands more were detained, tortured, or raped. The atrocities, known as “Gukurahundi,” constituted genocide because the Shona-dominated Fifth Brigade intentionally destroyed a substantial part of the Ndebele ethnic group.
In 2018, the Zimbabwean government formed the National Peace and Reconciliation Committee. The Committee has not formally acknowledged the Gukurahundi genocide. Perpetrators have not been held accountable for their crimes. Victims’ families have not received compensation. Genocide Watch recognizes Gukurahundi as a genocide and calls on the Zimbabwean government to end its denial.
A military coup in 2017 ended Robert Mugabe’s oppressive 37-year reign. Mugabe’s successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, was Mugabe's ZANU-PF comrade. He {Mnangagwa} planned and directed the Gukurahundi genocide. ZANU-PF is dominated by the Shona. ZANU-PF youth militias have a history of violently suppressing political opponents, protestors, and other ethnic groups, especially the Matabele (Ndebele).
When Mnangagwa was officially elected in 2018, large-scale protests ensued. Similar to the 2008 election violence carried out by ZANU-PF thugs, in 2018, six protestors were killed and 35 were wounded by state security forces. Members of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change were beaten or killed. Perpetrators of the 2008 and 2018 repression have never been held accountable.
In January 2019, state security forces responded to civilian protests against increased fuel prices and severe food shortages with excessive force, killing 17 people. 17 women were arrested and raped.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, government crackdowns on freedom of speech and media intensified. Using vague new laws on misinformation, Zimbabwean authorities harassed journalists and protestors with arbitrary arrests, detention, and torture.
The LGBTQ+ community also faces state-sanctioned discrimination. Zimbabwe’s constitution bans same-sex marriage, and a 2006 law criminalizes any actions perceived as homosexual. Such laws encourage homophobia. They officially stigmatize LGBT+ people.
Genocide Watch considers the situation in Zimbabwe to be at Stage 3:
Discrimination. Ethnic Matabele, political dissidents, and LGBT+ individuals face discrimination and arbitrary arrests by security forces.
Zimbabwe is also at Stage 10:
Denial. The government’s denial that the Gukurahundi was a genocide and its refusal to hold perpetrators of grave human rights abuses accountable has created a culture of impunity. Political and military leaders believe they will never be prosecuted for their crimes.
Genocide Watch recommends:
- Zimbabwe should recognize the Gukurahundi as a genocide. Zimbabwe's government should compensate descendants of its victims. Surviving leaders of the genocide should be prosecuted.
- Leaders of the 2018 election violence and January 2019 crackdown should be prosecuted.
- The EU, U.S., and U.N. should maintain financial sanctions and arms embargoes on Zimbabwe.
- Zimbabwe should repeal its legal restrictions on freedom of the media and freedom to protest.