The
announcement
by
the
National
Council
of
Chiefs
that
the
hearings
will
be
held
privately,
with
each
victim
appearing
alone
or
with
minimal
family
support
before
a
14-member
panel
led
by
the
local
chief,
has
triggered
unease
among
former
liberation
war
fighters
and
political
activists.
“These
are
not
public
hearings,”
stated
Chief
Fortune
Charumbira,
Deputy
President
of
the
National
Council
of
Chiefs,
during
a
recent
press
conference
in
Bulawayo.
However,
many
see
this
model
as
intimidating,
especially
for
women
and
elderly
survivors.
Vice
Chairperson
of
the
ZPRA
Veterans
Association
Grace
Noko,
outrightly
rejected
the
format.
“I
am
totally
not
in
agreement
with
the
hearing,”
Noko
told
CITE.
“Gukurahundi
brought
fear
into
people’s
lives
and
until
today,
people
are
still
not
free,
they
remain
traumatised.
A
panel
of
14
against
one
instills
fear.
Real
victims
might
not
attend,
but
the
imposed
ones
will.”
Noko
also
criticised
the
selection
of
chiefs
to
lead
the
hearings,
arguing
that
many
were
too
young
during
the
1980s
genocide
to
fully
understand
its
gravity.
“Most
chiefs
were
young
or
not
yet
born
during
Gukurahundi.
To
them,
it’s
like
playing
old
music
with
no
meaning,
just
a
passing
office
duty
or
taking
orders
from
the
top,”
she
claimed.
The
former
fighter
also
questioned
the
government’s
sincerity,
referencing
past
commissions
such
as
Sandura
and
Catholic
Commission
for
Justice
and
Peace,
which
also
held
closed
hearings.
“Why
were
those
not
made
public
either?”
she
asked,
adding
the
government
must
rethink
its
approach
or
risk
deepening
the
wounds
it
claims
to
heal.
“For
us
in
ZPRA,
this
is
a
waste
of
time,
a
dirty
campaign
to
brainwash
people.
Gukurahundi
is
a
genocide.”
Political
activist
and
interim
leader
of
the
Assemblies
of
Minorities
(AM)
party,
Chilumbo
Mudenda,
echoed
these
concerns,
saying
the
process
lacks
credibility
and
legal
grounding.
“It
has
been
our
argument
that
such
a
process
should
be
inclusive
of
all
stakeholders,
with
the
government
playing
a
role
but
not
monopolising
the
entire
process,”
Mudenda
said.
He
argued
that
the
current
approach,
government-led
and
dominated
by
traditional
leaders,
fails
to
address
the
personal,
communal,
political,
and
socio-economic
consequences
of
Gukurahundi.
“The
chiefs-led
process
falls
far
short
in
addressing
any
aspect
of
this
problem.
It
does
not
respond
to
the
deep
political
and
developmental
damage
caused
by
the
genocide,”
Mudenda
said.
“Many
of
these
chiefs
are
victims
themselves,
now
forced
to
sanitise
the
perpetrators
without
clarity
on
when
the
perpetrators
will
even
speak.”
Mudenda
added
that
the
absence
of
a
legal
framework
governing
the
process
undermines
its
legitimacy.
“There
should
be
a
law
to
prescribe
the
process’s
terms
of
reference,
grievance
mechanisms,
and
overall
credibility.
The
Zimbabwean
authorities
have
ignored
consistent
calls
for
a
neutral,
regional
or
internationally-led
process,
like
the
Motlanthe
Commission,”
he
noted.
Like
Noko,
Mudenda
insisted
that
genuine
reconciliation
must
be
rooted
in
truth,
accountability,
not
secrecy
or
political
control.
“Victims
deserve
an
independent,
inclusive,
and
transparent
process.
Not
one
directed
by
those
accused
of
wrongdoing,”
Mudenda
concluded.