Growing Calls for Suspension of Gukurahundi Public Hearings
The government is under increasing pressure to halt the ongoing public hearings related to the Gukurahundi atrocities, as various stakeholders, including civic organizations and political parties from Matabeleland, continue to demand regional and international attention on the issue. These calls are driven by concerns over the legitimacy and transparency of the process.
Over 10 political parties, including Zapu and Freedom Alliance, have formed an alliance to challenge the government-led public hearings, which are being conducted by traditional leaders. The opposition argues that the lack of transparency in these proceedings undermines their credibility and fails to address the country’s painful history.
Critics argue that the hearings are being held away from public scrutiny and media coverage, raising questions about their authenticity. They have vowed not to “sanitise the process” or be complicit in what they describe as a “grossly flawed process that is unashamedly dishonest.”
Human rights advocacy group Ibhetshu LikaZulu has strongly criticized the hearings, calling them “deeply flawed” and a “tragic mockery of justice.” The group’s secretary-general, Mbuso Fuzwayo, expressed grave concerns over the lack of credibility, transparency, and meaningful participation of victims and survivors of the 1980s massacres.
Fuzwayo pointed out that the process is fundamentally flawed because it is led by the very perpetrators of the genocide. He referred to the ruling Zanu PF party, whose leadership was responsible for the deaths of thousands of civilians in Matabeleland and the Midlands during the Gukurahundi atrocities.
He also criticized the way reconciliation efforts are being coordinated through the Office of the President and Cabinet, arguing that these initiatives have sidelined victims, ignored historical injustices, and failed to create safe, victim-centered platforms for truth-telling.
Fuzwayo highlighted the micro-management of the initiative by the state, which he believes undermines any appearance of impartiality. “Chiefs have been roped into a political agenda, not a justice process,” he said. “The hand that committed the atrocities is the same hand dictating the terms of ‘reconciliation.’”
Ibhetshu LikaZulu also questioned the lack of transparency in how testimonies are being collected and how final reports will be compiled or verified. “Survivors do not even know who is documenting their pain, or whether their narratives will be distorted or silenced altogether,” Fuzwayo said.
The group warned that the process is unfolding in a context of ongoing fear, surveillance, and political repression, which severely limits open and honest participation. “This is not reconciliation—it is propaganda,” he added. “Suggesting that victims should be grateful for such a process is not only insulting, it is retraumatising.”
International and Regional Appeals
MRP leader Mqondisi Moyo mentioned that the group is awaiting a response from the United Nations following their petition to the global body seeking intervention. The MRP submitted its petition to the UN offices in Pretoria on July 4 this year. Moyo said they expect a response within one to three months.
“We have also been escalating our issue of self-determination and the Gukurahundi genocide; we have also petitioned the South African government over the continued harassment of our people domiciled in South Africa,” Moyo explained. “There are several thousands of people from Matabeleland and Midlands domiciled in South Africa; whereas the majority don’t have people, but all those people are victims and survivors of the Gukurahundi genocide.”
In a joint statement, Matabeleland political parties said they were also escalating the matter regionally and internationally. “We are building an all-stakeholders alliance for the justice campaign for Gukurahundi genocide…and inviting all progressive forces to join in this noble campaign for a resolution to this Zimbabwean genocide,” they stated.
“This alliance shall campaign locally, nationally, regionally, and internationally for a genuine, transparent, and just process to address Gukurahundi and bring healing and national reconciliation.”
They added: “Without appearing to measure victimhood and apportioning it on either a high or low scale, we strongly believe that the government of Zimbabwe set a precedent after the unfortunate shooting of six innocent civilians on August 1, 2018, by drawing an eminent team led by President Kgalema Motlanthe to make an enquiry on what happened. It is only fair that a commission similarly led by an external eminent person be appointed on Gukurahundi.”
