Gukurahundi rears its ugly head again as Parliament discusses Mphoko’s Peace and Reconciliation bill- Part Three

HON. MAJOME:  Thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.  I hope you will allow me to use my device because that is where I put my notes for the debate on this particular Bill.

I hope that the Hon. Vice President will consider improving the Bill in the following respects in order to give effect to the desperately needed healing and reconciliation that our country desires.  In particular, I am hoping that he would develop in the Bill clear provisions and mechanisms to ensure that four things are done in particular because I do not see them in the Bill:

1-The telling of the truth – that we are not going to be able to move forward as a nation if we do not deal with our past.  We must be able to learn to sit at tables, tell each other our experiences and hear them no matter how unsavoury and disturbing they are.  That telling of the truth will help us reconcile.  The telling of the truth that this was done to me; we will find each other that way.  It is not a dangerous thing at all. That is the beginning in the Bill because the functions of the Commission in terms of the Constitution require that the Commission does so and in the Bill, there does not seem to be much devoted to that. 

2-Secondly, I would hope that the Bill also takes time in dealing with the second issue of reparations, to show a process on how people can start to talk about it and what mechanisms might be done.

3-The third one is the issue of justice.  The Bill must indicate how justice for those people who survived the atrocities is going to be done.  Yes, we have a criminal justice system, but this issue keeps arising  is because there are people who are walking around scot free but they raped people, killed people, took people’s goods but are floating around and the criminal law is not working.  The Bill must indicate how it is going to relate to that, because there is some mention of amnesty out of the blue but it does not say if the amnesty is going to be available and for what kind of issues.  How do you arrive at that stage, if there is going to be any amnesty?  In my respectful view, amnesty must actually not be talked about but instead there must be mechanisms that indicate how those people who have not obtained criminal or civil justice are going to be able to go possibly to the police to claim damages – because, the police are there and the witnesses are still around.

4-The fourth thing is the guarantee of non-recurrence.  I would hope that the Hon. Vice President devotes some time in having this Bill devote some effort to indicate how those terrible things that happened in this country that we did to each other and that were done to us that they do not ever happen again so that Zimbabwe can move forward.  I notice that the Bill talks about giving investigative functions to the Commission.  I have a difficulty with this for two reasons in the way it is crafted.  The Bill is saying that the Commission will investigate only when a person comes forward and complains that this happened to me.  I hope that the Hon. Vice President allows the Commission and makes it clear that the Commission can mero motu, as lawyers say on its own initiative investigate.  It should not be sitting and waiting in its offices but it should actually be proactive and go there.

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