Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. By Staff Reporter – IBHETSHU Likazulu Secretary-General, Mbuso Fuzwayo says people from Midlands, particularly victims of the Gukurahundi massacres, should be afforded an opportunity to speak about the atrocities and bring closure, some 35 years after the disturbances ended.
Gukurahundi upheavals happened in the early 1980s when a ruthless Zimbabwe military unit killed over 20 000 people in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces ostensibly to fight an insurgency against the government.
Several attempts have been made in Matabeleland region for years to bring closure to the issue although no meaning progress has been made.
However, in the Midlands province where some districts were also affected during the disturbances, not much has been done to engage the victims.
Recently, a plaque in Silobela district, Midlands was stolen a few days before the commemorations of the Gukurahundi massacres in the area.
The commemorations were organised by the Ibhetshu Likazulu.
“The truth of the matter is that we erected a plaque in Silobela, Midlands. This is an area where nothing or little has been done around issues of memorialisation of the Gukurahundi, and issues of truth telling,” Fuzwayo told NewZimbabwe.com.
He added since President Emmerson Mnangagwa assumed office in November 2017, and encouraged Gukurahundi victims to raise the issue, people from the Midlands province who were also affected by the disturbances were not given an opportunity to do so.
“Looking at the present political developments after Mnangagwa assumed power and met chiefs from Matabeleland and Midlands provinces, people from Midlands have never had the opportunity to discuss the issue. So, we felt we had to give the people of Midlands, especially in Silobela, an opportunity to talk about issues that affected them,” he said.
Fuzwayo said the focus of his organisation, Ibhetshu Likazulu, in Midlands was on forced disappearances.
“In Tsholotsho, we were specifically focusing on women. In Silobela, we are focusing on forced disappearances. That is why we went to Silobela because if the government is kidnapping people that it is supposed to protect, then it is a problem.
“These victims must be given space. When Mnangagwa came to Bulawayo in 2019 to meet the chiefs, the chiefs from Midlands, from the affected areas were not allowed to speak,” he said.
Midlands is Mnangagwa’s home province.
“Mnangagwa’s argument was that Midlands was united. Midlands, has however, never been given an opportunity to speak about their experiences. To say what they want.
“So, victims in Midlands do not have space. So, we are saying victims from Midlands must be given an opportunity to speak. Midlands is affected like Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South,” said Fuzwayo.
