MATABELELAND pressure group, Ibhetshu likaZulu will today commemorate Gukurahundi in honour of the estimated 20 000 people massacred by the North Korea-trained Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland and Midlands provinces in the early 1980s.

Ibhetshu likaZulu secretary general Mbuso Fuzwayo said January 20 marked the beginning of a dark period for the region and its people.

"January 20 will forever remain a dark day in the history of our beloved country, as this was the day when the Fifth Brigade was deployed in 1982 in the Matabeleland and
the Midlands regions, with a clear agenda to commit genocide. This State-funded tribal cleansing was mercilessly carried out up to the end of the genocide ceremony on December 22, 1987," Fuzwayo said.

"Sadly, up to this day, the government of Zimbabwe has continued to be remorseless by not taking any concrete measures to put in place a foundation for true peace and reconciliation in the country," he said.

Fuzwayo said it was unfortunate that the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC), a constitutional body that was supposed to foster true peace and reconciliation, remained underfunded and not independent.

"We are seriously worried that other perpetrators who are the soldiers and military generals that led the extermination of our fellow countrymen continue to die everyday without giving the country vital information on how they implemented this diabolic act. Painfully, the Gukurahundi survivors continue to depart without finding justice and closure," he said.

The NPRC is yet to begin its public consultations on the Gukurahundi issue. The process was supposed to begin last year, but COVID-19 lockdowns have stalled it.

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