Story by Sifiso Sibanda
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has launched the Gukurahundi Community Engagement Outreach Programme, whose aim is to bring closure to the 1980s disturbances that took place in Matabeleland and some parts of the Midlands provinces.
The post- independence conflict in the Matabeleland region and some parts of Midlands can never be ignored and the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa has affirmed its commitment to address this through a community engagement process that is being led by chiefs.
Speaking during the launch of the outreach programme in Bulawayo this Sunday, President Mnangagwa said as a responsible government, it has taken it upon themselves to foster healing, peace and unity through a home grown solution.
“We owe a debt of eternal gratitude to our nation’s founding fathers, the late President Robert Mugabe and the late father Zimbabwe Joshua Nkomo for defying seemingly insurmountable obstacles and forging the Unity Accord of 1987. This unity shall remain as the foundation of our unity and the emblem of our unitary state. Today, we are building on that foundation and cementing our unity, which we commit to guard jealousy as our birth right in this sacred nation,” he said.
President Mnangagwa said the programme is not simply a mechanism for revisiting grievances but a transformative process towards healing and national cohesion.
“This initiative is a potent symbol of our collective will to bridge the devices that have separated us for too long. It places the onus of healing squarely on the shoulders of its most capable custodians, our esteemed chiefs. With their knowledge of tradition and wisdom, they will guide us through open dialogue, fostering empathy and understanding. As we share our stories, the wounds of the past will begin to mend, thereby enabling national healing.”
He reckoned that the country’s detractors have always tried to create a rift amongst Zimbabweans, but have hit a brick-wall as the leaders engage communities to bring closure to Gukurahundi.
“Our unity must stand as an immovable barrier to prevent their historic goal of subjugating us in numerous ways including in the economic sphere. The interference by our detractors manifest itself in different ways. They manifest as political parties with a regional agenda which seeks to decide our people and to question the unitary nature of our state. They also manifest as voluntary organisations ostensibly concerned with the people’s plight, yet exaggerate and magnify regional grievances while at the same time seeking to belittle our efforts at reconciliation and unity at the behest of their founders,” said the President.
President Mnangagwa said the programme is a strong statement of intent as the country works on peace building and uniting the nation.
