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, Mnangagwa and 'others'.
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 Damaclease - 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
- Details
- Written by: Amnesty International - Muleya Mwananyanda
- Hits: 163
Gukurahundi Massacres and Statelessness
When Zimbabwe gained independence in 1980 it was a deeply divided country. Tensions between the Robert Mugabe-led ZANU-PF and the Joshua Nkomo-led ZAPU led to an eruption of violence between the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA) and the Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), the respective military wings of ZANU-PF and ZAPU.
By early 1982, authorities were violently cracking down on ZIPRA forces in Matabeleland, the homeland of the Ndebele people. Special forces of the Zimbabwe National Army Fifth Brigade were deployed, who carried out atrocious attacks against not only militants but also ZAPU officials and other people. The political tensions spilled into mass atrocities against the Ndebele people, and an estimated 20,000 people were killed between 1983 and 1987. Thousands were tortured and abducted, women were raped, and homes destroyed.
When the crackdown, known as operation Gukurahundi, was over, traumatized survivors had to grapple with the challenges of statelessness as they were required to produce death certificates as proof of their parents to apply for Zimbabwean nationality. However, death certificates for people killed in the Gukurahundi operation were not issued, meaning that those who were orphaned as a result of the violence had no way of proving their parents’ nationality.