The event drew
politicians, civic leaders, and activists, with speakers openly criticising
both past and current governments for failing to reckon with the country’s
violent legacy.
Bulawayo Mayor
David Coltart, delivering a candid reflection, acknowledged the complicity of
Zimbabwe’s former white minority in laying the legal and political groundwork
for the repression seen in the country today.
“As I reflect
on our nation’s history, I recognise that much of the abuse inflicted on Job
Sikhala and others stems from systems created by the white community,” said
Coltart. “The Law and Order Maintenance Act, media restrictions, all of these
were tools of control crafted in the colonial era that remain embedded in
today’s governance.”
Coltart said
the enduring legacy of those systems had “poisoned” Zimbabwe, and urged white
Zimbabweans to take responsibility for that history.
Meanwhile,
activist and facilitator Nkomo focused on the Gukurahundi massacres of the
1980s, in which an estimated 20,000 people, mostly ethnic Ndebele, were killed
in a military crackdown.
“Our political
parties have failed to hold ZANU PF accountable for Gukurahundi,” he said. “We
still don’t know what happened to thousands who disappeared. Chiefs were used
then, as they are now, to push government agendas and silence the victims.”
Nkomo condemned
current efforts by traditional leaders to encourage forgiveness without
truth-telling or justice, calling it a continuation of impunity.
“How are our
mothers supposed to forgive when they were raped, when their children were
buried in mass graves, and when those responsible still sit in government?” he
asked. “Some children live with fake birth certificates because their fathers
were disappeared. The trauma is intergenerational.”
Sikhala, who
recently spent over 500 days in pre-trial detention, echoed the call for truth
and justice.
“Forty-five
years later, the people of Matabeleland still want to know why they were
massacred,” he said. “Justice has never been served. We must confront our past
if we are to build a democratic future.”
He pledged that
in a free Zimbabwe, new national holidays would be declared to commemorate
victims, including 3 January, which he said would mark the beginning of the
Gukurahundi killings. CITE
Hwende apology to @JobSikhala1 pic.twitter.com/dJVbjAsl4Y
— Gerrard Anko Ged Belts (@MacBelts) July 6, 2025
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