Chronicle Editor
Limukani Ncube, Editor
Today marks the fourth interface with the Chiefs Council as we continue to work towards strengthening the prevalence of peace in our motherland. In order to maintain and strengthen our national unity as Zimbabweans, my Administration embarked in February 2019 on an initiative to pursue the resolution of the Gukurahundi issue through an internal home-grown process that would invite the participation of all affected,” said President Mnangagwa when he addressed traditional leaders at State House in Bulawayo on Friday in an interface aimed to finalise processes that will pave way for the Gukurahundi Community Consultations, which will be spearheaded by the traditional leaders.
The post-independence disturbances, witnessed in the country in the 1980s, known as Gukurahundi, had for long been a subject spoken about in hushed tones until President Mnangagwa occupied the highest office in the land and stressed that the nation had to confront its ugly past, find common ground for it to move forward.
The ground work for the consultations has been done, with the budget set by Government and a launch to kick start with actual work will be held soon. However, President Mnangagwa counselled that all stakeholders should be on the lookout for satanic agents who would seek to plough seeds of chaos and disunity.
“I therefore take this opportunity to urge everyone involved in this exercise to maintain heightened alertness for external influences that seek to derail our processes and drive us back to a scenario of internal disputes and conflicts. The unity of our nation must be guarded jealously against detractors both internal and external,” he said.
However, the fact that traditional leaders have been assigned by the President to lead this important process in the history of the country can not be over looked. In many countries traditional authorities play a pre-eminent role as mediators of any conflict. In general terms, traditional leaders especially chiefs bring disputing parties together and create an atmosphere in which they can resolve their differences, thus playing a mediator role, all aimed at finding lasting peace.
Chiefs have thus been tasked by President Mnangagwa to lead in the Gukurahundi resolution process in the Matabeleland and Midlands provinces. The chiefs have been tasked to talk to their communities and find out what the burning issues are and how Government can step in to resolve the issues raised, so that the country moves forward from that emotive issue of post-independence political disturbances.
The call by the President to give that role to chiefs was a master stroke, simply because chiefs are custodians and gatekeepers in any society. In fact, chiefs know the aspirations, fears as well as physical, spiritual and cultural needs of their people. Chiefs also front the social and economic interests of their communities. They are part of the people and understand what the real issues are at grassroots level, as opposed to other organisations that come in as “them and us”.
In addition, chiefs represent local communities and speak for and on behalf of locals, unlike civic society organisations or some political parties whose interests and purpose might be articulated from elsewhere and therefore their interventions are tailor-made to excite their handlers and not locals.
An academic based in South Africa, Dr Cetshwayo Mabhena is on record as saying giving chiefs the leading role was befitting as chiefs hold the centre of people’s lives, tradition, customs and history.
“Chiefs are a custodian of a people’s history; they connect a people to their ancestors. Chiefs are a custodian of a people’s cultures and values. They are also the ones that keep a people’s memory. They are a custodian of traditions, rituals and rites of people. They are also champions of a people’s culture, they monitor and preserve that. They know the spiritual, physical, social or economic needs of the people because their lives are grounded in the community. So there are no fitting champions of engagement than chiefs, so it’s important to invest trust and leadership in them. It’s a way of going back to how things were done in the past, it’s a way of involving the people. Let’s not forget that chiefs are also custodians of knowledge of how people live daily. If you want to know how people live, feel or their desires, go through chiefs. Chiefs are not elected, they are not politicians, they are chiefs because of culture, so it’s a way of depoliticising the whole process as opposed to using non-governmental organisations who might have their own agenda,” said Dr Mabhena.
To ensure that chiefs carry out their duties as expected, they have been equipped with guidelines and other necessary tools. President Mnangagwa in 2022 launched a manual on the Gukurahundi community engagement processes by chiefs including a report on their consultative meetings as the Second Republic took a bold step towards finding a lasting solution and fostering national unity for the healing of the victims.
Traditional leaders crafted and adopted the Gukurahundi manual to guide the holding of victim-friendly public hearings to ensure national healing as the country confronts its unfortunate past brought about by the 1980s conflict. The manual, which is a product of inclusive engagements between chiefs and various stakeholders, is a culmination of traditional leaders’ meetings with President Mnangagwa, which started in March 2019.
Chiefs are expected to lead the public hearings in some parts of Matabeleland and Midlands provinces. Information contained in Volume 1 of the manual is on what has been done so far in terms of the Gukurahundi issue while Volume 2 reflects on what will be done after the launch. The manual will guide chiefs on how to conduct the consultative and engagement process in the communities.
The engagement process is a move in the right direction, and Zimbabweans must own and jealously guard the process. This is because there are vultures waiting on the wings to misinform people and create chaos. There are vultures who profiteer from the unresolved conflicts of the past. Therefore, chiefs must be allowed to carry out their mandate, as the Government moves to put closure on the emotive episode in the country’s history.
Online Reporter
Londile Moyo