Chronicle Editor
Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
RETIRED Justice Selo Nare is on a mission to foster peace and reconciliation among Zimbabweans.
The Gwanda born former Judge (77) was appointed chairperson of the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) by President Mnangagwa in 2018.
Three years into his tenure, Rtd Justice Nare describes his job as one of the most sensitive and most difficult in his distinguished career spanning three decades.
He has served as a High Court Judge, regional magistrate and a magistrate.
Fluent in English, Sotho, Venda, IsiNdebele, Shona and Nyanja, Rtd Justice Nare says being multi-lingual is critical in his role.
His wife, Mrs Laetia Nare, a former teacher interjects, “but I don’t how he failed to speak Kalanga,” before the Rtd Justice adds that he understands the language although, he cannot speak it. It is also the case, he says, with Nambya.
This was during an interview with Rtd Justice Nare at his home in Bulawayo’s West Somerton suburb after he clarified the NPRC position on Gukurahundi.
One of its commissioners, Mr Obert Gutu, had triggered outrage by saying that the matter was “small tiny fraction” of the conflicts the peace commission was dealing with.
Rtd Justice Nare said the NPRC views Gukurahundi as the top conflict the commission was dealing with although there were several others.
He says the outrage on social media spaces like Twitter was evidence of how the matter needs to be handled with caution.
Rtd Justice Nare said while members of the public were lambasting the commission on the mainstream and social media platforms, the NPRC was quietly dealing with the matter behind closed doors and had warned the commissioners against making reckless statements.
The NPRC chairperson pays strict attention to detail as during the interview, he would occasionally pick a copy of the Constitution and refer to relevant sections on the NPRC’s mandate
“One of our functions according to section 252 (c) is to bring about national reconciliation by encouraging the people to tell the truth about the past and facilitating the making of amends and the provision of justice,” said Rtd Justice Nare.
He said the sensitivity of his team’s task is way more sensitive compared to his previous job of 30 years where he would sentence criminals to jail while acquitting the wrongly accused.
“It’s a very interesting one, it’s a sensitive job. The nation, through the President, has given me the task to lead the commission in as far as peace and reconciliation is concerned,” he said as he quickly asserted that he is up to the task.
“With my background, after being a judge, a magistrate, a regional magistrate, that strength of dealing fairly with cases is in me. I have to move forward and deal with the task. Agreed, this is a sensitive matter that I have to deal with, but it’s the job I must do. I served a total of 30 years as a judge, regional magistrate and a magistrate. The most demanding one is being in the NPRC. You have to deal with people of diverse opinions, a lot of politics is in it but I’m used to it having been it in for more than three years.”
Rtd Justice Nare said tolerance is critical when serving in independent commissions.
“What I have learnt along the way is that we have diverse opinions from members of the public. Members of the public can disagree with you but you have to accept their opinions as well. Sit down and thrash matters out with them. But with the experience that I have now, you’ll find that I’m able to deal with the matters that are taking place presently and my greatest wish is to reconcile the nation, in particular on the issue of Gukurahundi,” said Rtd Justice Nare.
He said a resolution on the matter can only be achieved through dialogue citing the Unity Accord as a product of such a process.
Rtd Justice Nare said his personal experiences especially on matters to do with Gukurahundi put him at the right place to deal with one of the darkest episodes in the history of Zimbabwe.
“I was a magistrate at that time when it started. I was deployed in Hwange before I moved to Chiredzi. I know the operations during that time, I have attended some of the funerals that took place. Those are some of my experiences,” said Rtd Justice Nare.
He said as the NPRC carries out its mandate, Government and some members of the public have expressed concern that it was slow in addressing the Gukurahundi issue.
“It’s of interest that even those in position of authority believe that this matter of Gukurahundi should be resolved as quickly as possible.
With the commission, I’m trying to do that as matter of urgency but there are other things affecting our work like the lockdown, which is affecting our work in terms of meeting the people. It is my intention that by the end of my tenure, we would have made inroads in reconciling the people,” he said.
Rtd Justice Nare said while he cannot speak on behalf of Government, President Mnangagwa has shown commitment towards addressing the matter.
He said this is also shown by the fiscal support to the operations of the NPRC.
“I cannot answer on their behalf but I should think the leader is committed and they must be committed. In the past years it was difficult to get financial assistance but things have improved, if you go to our offices, you will find furniture, divisions have taken place and we get help from Government if we want things to be done. The situation has improved although the situation can be better than what it is right now,” said the soft-spoken chairperson.
“We have had a situation where cars were bought for our managers to travel from one point to another particularly when they are doing investigations.”-@nqotshili
Online Reporter