EX-NATIONAL Healing co-minister Moses Mzila-Ndlovu has declared that he will never lose his voice in demanding justice for Gukurahundi victims.
NQOBANI NDLOVU STAFF REPORTER
Mzila-Ndlovu, an outspoken critic of President Robert Mugabe and the Gukurahundi genocide, was arrested several times since the formation of the inclusive government for speaking about the 1980s disturbances.
At one time he declared the arrests only served to harden him and dared the police to continue arresting him as he would never keep quiet about the atrocities until some form of justice was achieved.
Mzila-Ndlovu, a senior member of the MDC led by Welshman Ncube, said it was only through openly speaking about the massacres that victims could find closure.
However, since Mzila-Ndlovu lost his Bulilima West seat to Zanu PF, he has been keeping a low profile which he attributed to the low media coverage he was now getting.
“The kind of media coverage that we used to get before the elections is different to the one that we get now. Maybe the media has shifted focus and this may sound to the general public as if I lost my voice after the elections,” Mzila-Ndlovu.
State security agents have previously stifled debate on Gukurahundi resulting in several politicians, civil society activists, media personnel and members of the clergy being arrested or harassed for raising the matter. Bulawayo–based visual artist Owen Maseko was incarcerated for holding an art exhibition depicting the horrors of Gukurahundi. Mzila-Ndlovu said he would remain outspoken over Gukurahundi until there was justice.
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“It is inconceivable to suggest that I will keep quiet because of the July 31 elections outcome. The issues that I was articulating before still remain unresolved and as such, Mzila-Ndlovu will keep calling for justice. It is not my fight, but a fight for every Zimbabwean seeking justice for human rights violations,” Mzila-Ndlovu said.
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace has said that at least 20 000 people, including children and pregnant mothers, were killed in the genocide that only ended after the then opposition Zapu leader the late Vice-President Joshua Nkomo signed a Unity Accord with Zanu PF in 1987. Official reports on the massacres have never been made public and discussion on the operation suppressed.
The closest Mugabe came to even acknowledging Gukurahundi was when he termed the period “a moment of madness”.
