OPPOSITION parties and critics said there was nothing to celebrate on Unity Day yesterday when government critics face threats of abductions, arrest and political violence.
Zimbabwe declared December 22 a national holiday following the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987 by PF Zapu and Zanu PF to end the Gukurahundi killings in Matabeleland and Midlands.
At least 20 000 civilians lost their lives during Gukurahundi, with the majority being Zapu supporters.
Zapu president Sibangilizwe Nkomo told NewsDay Weekender that there could be no unity without national healing and closure on Gukurahuhundi and other State-sponsored human rights’ violations.
“Yes, we can celebrate Unity Day, but the truth is that Gukurahundi still persists,” Nkomo said.
“Remember during Gukurahundi a lot of perpetrators of violence were not arrested. There are also so many political prisoners, people are being arrested; the likes of (former Citizens Coalition for Change [CCC] MP) Job Sikhala and some are being killed or abducted.”
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Nkomo said Zimbabwe needs genuine reconciliation built on truth, accountability, and respect for human rights.
“As Zapu, we are still pushing the culture of unity, love and peace,” he said.
“We haven’t seen the end of Gukurahundi. A lot of things are still happening that violate the rights of people. This is not what our ancestors and previous leaders taught us.”
CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi said genuine national unity in Zimbabwe was a mirage.
“For now, genuine national unity day is a dream deferred,” he said.
“Today, (President Emmerson) Mnangagwa seeks to use the decapitation of our people and the annihilation of its vehicle the CCC and denigration of the people’s leader advocate Nelson Chamisa to force another unity façade.”
Mkwananzi called for comprehensive national unity that addresses people’s grievances.
“This comprehensive national reconciliation must be driven by the spirit of forgiveness, justice and truth telling,” he said.
“In the absence of this holistic process, this country will continue into further divisions and desperate actions as people seek to be heard and to be given the national platform to vent their long-standing grievances and scars.”
The Job Sikhala Solidarity Council said Unity Day is a reminder of Zanu PF politics of coercion and deceit.
“Zimbabwe’s national calendar dictates that citizens today commemorate Unity Day, a day when the PF Zapu party was coerced to the negotiating table and forced to swallow a poisoned chalice by Zanu PF in 1987,” the council said.
“In 2009, Morgan Richard Tsvangirai was a victim of the same vile Zanu PF tactics, forced to enter into the so-called Government of National Unity to halt the mass killing of his supporters.”
The council said Zimbabweans deserve their right to dignity and freedom from State-sponsored lawfare.
“Job Sikhala is a victim of such law fare and has been inhumanely caged in Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison for over 18 months,” the council said.
“The Sikhala case is synonymous with the case of Lieutenant General Lookout Masuku, who spent four years in prison, but had been declared innocent by the Supreme Court.”
Masuku, a ZPRA commander, was only released on the basis of ill health and went on to die at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals on April 5, 1986.
LEAD president Linda Masarira, however, said there was need for people to forgive each other and reconcile.
“We might have different political views, but that doesn’t mean that we have to hate each other. Zimbabwe is our country. We need to unite in our diversity and speak with one voice as we thrive to unite this beautiful country and her people,” Masarira said.
Genocide Survivors for Justice chairperson Nomagugu Khumalo said December 22 is a sad reminder of the unresolved country’s dark past.
“Now the question remains, did Mugabe cheat Nkomo into signing the Unity Accord?
“It certainly looks like the signing of this Accord was nothing but a scam because although the arbitrary killings were halted, Gukurahundi continued in a stealthily different manner.”