THE Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) says its calls for restoration should not be mischaracterised as reckless secessionism, but a legitimate demand for justice, accountability and the right to self-determination.
MRP leader Mqondisi Moyo said the call arose from decades of systemic marginalisation and socio-economic exclusion as well as 1980s mass killings in the Matabeleland and Midlands regions.
At least 20 000 people are reported to have been killed during the Gukurahundi massacres, according to the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe.
“The MRP call is a response to deep historical wounds from the atrocities of Gukurahundi, to the continued dispossession of land and opportunities, and the systematic erasure of Mthwakazi’s identity and voice within the national narrative,” Moyo said.
“At its core, the call for Mthwakazi’s restoration is a demand for recognition, restitution and reparation, a peaceful and principled movement grounded in the ideals of restorative justice, truth and dialogue, not violence or revenge.
“It calls for a deliberate effort to break the silence, expose complicity and challenge the comfortable myths that have long been used to justify and protect oppressive regimes disguised as liberators.”
For years, the government sought to sweep the emotive Gukurahundi matter under the carpet until recently when President Emmerson Mnangagwa tasked chiefs to conduct public hearings to seek closure.
Government has repeatedly said Zimbabwe will remain a unitary State and warned activists calling for secession.
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The MRP leader, however, said they would not give up their push for self-determination.
“This vision calls for the creation of a sovereign Mthwakazi State, governed by its own democratic institutions, accountable leadership and a system free from the centralised authoritarianism of Zanu PF,” Moyo said.
“Far from being a retreat into isolation, this is a progressive and forward-looking pursuit — one that champions self-governance, economic emancipation and the cultural revival of a long-silenced nation.”
