Tens
of
thousands
of
people
were
killed
over
several
years
in
the
so-called
Gukurahundi
massacre
under
former
leader
Robert
Mugabe,
a
few
years
after
Zimbabwe’s
independence
from
Britain.
Starting
in
1983,
Mugabe
deployed
an
elite
North
Korean-trained
army
unit
to
crack
down
on
a
revolt
in
the
western
Matabeleland
region.
Critics
say
the
soldiers
targeted
dissidents
loyal
to
Mugabe’s
rival,
fellow
revolutionary
and
nationalist
leader
Joshua
Nkomo.
Most
of
the
victims
belonged
to
the
minority
Ndebele
tribe.
Current
President
Emmerson
Mnangagwa
had
announced
that
survivors
would
be
interviewed
in
village
hearings
starting
on
Thursday,
in
a
bid
to
settle
longstanding
grievances
and
tensions.
But
on
Friday,
the
president
of
the
Chiefs
Council
leading
the
hearings
told
AFP
the
start
was
delayed,
mainly
because
a
number
of
traditional
leaders
had
been
busy
at
a
state
function.
However,
everything
was
in
place
“except
for
a
few
things”,
Chief
Mtshane
Khumalo
said.
Two
other
chiefs,
who
spoke
to
AFP
on
condition
of
anonymity,
said
the
delay
was
because
they
had
not
yet
been
given
promised
“fuel
and
money”
and
there
was
“confusion”
about
the
programme.
Mnangagwa
pushed
for
the
initiative
despite
some
survivors
and
human
rights
activists
saying
they
had
not
been
consulted.
Politician
Sibangilizwe
Nkomo,
son
of
Mugabe’s
late
rival
Joshua
Nkomo,
told
AFP
that
his
party
had
approached
the
High
Court
for
a
halt
to
the
proceedings.
Among
the
concerns
is
whether
the
chiefs
have
a
legal
mandate
to
preside
over
the
hearings.
Musa
Kika,
executive
director
of
the
pan-African
Institute
for
Human
Rights
and
Development
in
Africa,
said
there
were
also
questions
over
the
objectivity
of
the
traditional
leaders.
“The
chiefs
as
traditional
leaders…
do
have
legal
standing
to
deal
with
Gukurahundi,”
Kika
told
AFP.
But,
he
said,
they
“are
heavily
politicised
and…
not
neutral
arbiters”.
The
Gukurahundi
massacres
killed
an
estimated
20,000
people
over
several
years,
according
to
the
Catholic
Commission
for
Justice
and
Peace
in
Zimbabwe,
whose
toll
is
backed
by
Amnesty
International.
The
operation
took
place
in
a
region
where
support
for
Mugabe’s
rival
Nkomo
was
strong
among
the
minority
Ndebele
group.
The
name
Gukurahundi
is
a
term
in
the
majority
Shona
language
that
loosely
translates
as
“the
early
rain
that
washes
away
the
chaff”.
Mugabe,
who
died
in
2019,
never
acknowledged
responsibility
for
the
massacres,
only
referring
to
them
as
a
“moment
of
madness”.
After
taking
power
in
2017,
Mnangagwa,
who
was
security
minister
at
the
time
of
the
massacre,
promised
to
deal
with
the
issue.
Source:
Zimbabwe
Hearings
Over
Mugabe-era
Massacres
Delayed
–
Barron’s