The Unity Accord was signed by the late former President
Robert Mugabe and late former Vice-President Joshua Nkomo at the height of
Gukurahundi massacres that claimed an estimated 20 000 people in Matabeleland
and Midlands provinces between 1982 and 1987.
In his weekly column in a State-owned weekly, Mnangagwa
said the Heroes Day commemorations, to be held today, followed by the Defence
Forces Day set for Tuesday revived bitter memories of the liberation struggle,
all of them encapsulated and embodied in the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
He said while there were political disturbances in the
early years of the country’s independence, peace prevailed after the Unity
Accord was signed by Mugabe and Nkomo, bringing together political parties that
fought colonialism, Zanu PF and PF Zapu.
“True, they were fratricidal disturbances in the early
years of our independence, but reason prevailed in the end, as our leaders met,
talked and embraced, to give us a legacy of peace and stability we enjoy to
this day and which we have a duty to bequeath to posterity,” Mnangagwa said.
This has irked Matabeleland human rights groups who feel
that Mnangagwa has failed to resolve the Gukurahundi issue.
“Instead of shouting against those who are rightly
questioning the value of the Unity Accord in their lives, he should be focusing
on addressing the Gukurahundi genocide in which he was a leading perpetrator.
The Unity Accord benefited perpetrators like him and that is why he sees value
in it. It brought nothing to victims and survivors,” political analyst Effie
Ncube said.
South Africa-based educationist Nkosilathi Ncube said the
problem with the Unity Accord was that Zanu and Zapu were merged to come up
with Zanu PF.
“The second problem is that Zapu is given a second
Vice-President in the Unity Accord. While they are united like that, their
headquarters in Harare still has a Zanu cockerel as a symbol, it’s still Jongwe
offices,” Ncube said.
He also pointed out that the unity is meaningless when such
heroic figures as Cont Mhlanga cannot be buried at the Heroes Acre despite
their outstanding work.
Mthwakazi Republic party president Mqondisi Moyo said: “It
is all about Zanu, Zanu and Zanu, and nothing else. Despite the fact that
Gukurahundi was the major issue that led Nkomo to the Unity Accord, the
document does not even detail how they were going to address the emotive issue
in terms of the victims, it is just silent.”
Describing the unity accord as useless as long as it does
not address the marginalisation of Matabeleland Moyo added: “The Unity Accord
was supposed to ensure that the next president after Mugabe came from Zapu.
After removing former Vice-President Kembo Mohadi, they should have replaced
him with another person from Zapu if Mnangagwa really believes in the Unity
Accord.” Newsday
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