The ZANU PF-led government of Zimbabwe has over the years, through its propaganda institutions, shameless minions and lapdogs, made concerted efforts to try to convince the world that the Gukurahundi issue was resolved when PF ZAPU and ZANU signed the lopsided and nefarious unity accord of 1987. Nothing could be further from the truth. Gukurahundi, the 5th Brigade’s bloodletting genocidal spree, was mechanically curtailed by the signing of the Unity Accord and we take cognizance of that, but Gukurahundi as an ideology has been deepened, institutionalized and entrenched in the body politic of Zimbabwe, across communities, which greatly affects our daily lives as Zimbabweans.
Gukurahundi was not a freak moment of madness as once claimed by the late Robert Mugabe, in a futile attempt to absolve himself of any wrongdoing. It was a well-planned and well-orchestrated system meant to subjugate and keep populations in constant and perpetual fear, bewilderment and docility. This state of affairs of course has helped ZANU PF in its quest for the establishment of a one-party state. In the past 43 years, Gukurahundi has taken root, grown and nurtured by evil systems of patronage and nepotism. It has also flourished by being constantly watered with the emotions of tribalism.
Gukurahundi has given birth to Gukurahundism.
My statement today is not going to dwell on the heinous crimes, atrocities and human rights abuses by the Gukurahundists. My intention here is to offer a synopsis of the aftermath of Gukurahundi, which I call Gukurahundism. We are all aware that the architects and perpetrators of the genocide of Gukurahundi, some of whom are today in very powerful and very high positions of leadership in our country, were never made to account for their sins, not one of them. They literally got away with murder, rape and many more evils. What this did was to create a sad culture of impunity and immunity. That culture today is brazenly embraced by all manner of criminals who when caught red handed openly and pompously brag saying, "Muchatiita sei? Lizasenzani? What are you going to do about it?"
Corruption in Zimbabwe is a derivative of Gukurahundi, directly linked to it because corruption barons realized that nothing was done to the Gukurahundists who had murdered, raped, looted and destroyed. The corruption mafia became brazenly bold, took root and thrived like the lantana camara weed in the pastures and among field crops. In May 2005, government launched a nationwide operation, ostensibly meant to bring order to our cities and towns. That operation was codenamed "Murambatsvina" (clean up the filth). In the wake of that operation thousands of people were internally displaced as their places of abode and houses were wantonly bulldozed down to hips of filth. People lost their livelihoods and were left indigent by their own government. Decades earlier, there had been an operation codenamed "Gukurahundi" (the storm that clears all the chaff). The similarities in the codenames and the systematic destruction leave no doubt about the underlying system at work.
There are dozens of events that have occurred since independence that confirm the theory of Gukurahundism and its accompanying immunity. The gold looting mafia being the latest expose globally broadcast via the Al Jazeera documentary series, brought to light the extent of the scourge of Gukurahundism and the concomitant impunity enjoyed by the thieves even at the highest levels of government. Through their intricate networks of smuggling and money laundering, they continue to loot billions of US dollars in gold, leaving the majority of Zimbabweans all the poorer, without social amenities, medications, pensions, roads, electricity nor clean water.
Over the decades, we have witnessed several attempts at buying time and downplaying the gravity of Gukurahundi, culminating in the now defunct National Peace and Reconciliation Commission’s Spokesperson, Obert Gutu’s 2021 reckless remark that the emotive Gukurahundi issue was just a “small, tiny fraction of their mandate.” He got his nerve from Mugabe who used his classic ‘moment of madness’ excuse to justify genocide. Another Mugabe protégé, Mnangagwa today has single-handedly taken it upon himself to hoodwink the nation, by employing a weird strategy of sending Matabeleland Chiefs, who themselves were victims of Gukurahundi, to go on his behalf to engage the local victims in an effort to solve the problem. This is not only bizarre but smacks of dishonesty, arrogance and disregard for local cultural norms. It lacks seriousness. How does the perpetrator try and sentence himself? I must say vehemently and eloquently that we as ZAPU are going to challenge Mr Mnangagwa's approach and demand a more inclusive one which will see ZAPU, the main and primary victim, being included in the processes that will truly bring finality and closure for Gukurahundi.