What has happened in the past cannot be shelved, the truth shall set you free

 Zimbabwe is a country caught up in a storm of madness that has been going on from the birth of Zimbabwe to this day and age that is 2020. This means Zimbabwe has never realised true reconciliation, Zimbabwe has never embraced Uhuru, Zimbabwe has never realised cohesion and cooperation as a nation. Understanding the above lines one is drawn to pinpoint the actual fact Zimbabwe has been hoodwinked with the delusion that it is free and a peace-loving nation, however, when the veil has been removed one is allowed to behold what lies behind the veil is a dictatorship, persecution of free thinkers and the suppression of freedom of expression among many red tapes that have been placed by the ZanuPF led government.

This leads one to discuss and divulge critically the recent comments made by the Vice President Mr Kembo Mohadi. This is yet another embarrassment for the movement "ZanuPF" and the nation of Zimbabwe, in particular, the Ndebele nation of Zimbabwe who is still waiting for justice to be delivered to them. 

A brief historical exploration before one gets to the core of the discussion. Zimbabwe was born or got her independence in 1980 after an intense liberation struggle that saw the then Rhodesian government of Ian Smith had to force the liberation movements "ZANLA and ZIPRA" to the negotiating table. Thus the Lancaster House Agreements of 1979 were born they paved way for Zimbabwe to be born. Zimbabwe by that time it had two main political movements these are ZAPU and ZANU. ZAPU was led by Nkomo and ZANU was led by Mugabe. Digging deeper with this essay one stumbles upon an existential crisis that rocked Zimbabwe in one's observation it can be termed as the "megalomaniac crisis" this is to say Mugabe had one goal and one goal only to eliminate all those who threatened his hegemony in controlling Zimbabwe by any means necessary, however, it is not only Mugabe but it is within the movement "ZanuPF" in itself those who were around Mugabe at that time were in cahoots with the goal. The elephant in the room was Nkomo in one's observation. This then led to Nkomo's dismissal from the cabinet of Mugabe and he was later pushed into exile by Mugabe. 

At that time 1980 to 1986 there was an aura of mistrust between the two political leaders "Mugabe and Nkomo". There were frequent calls for the guerillas to be conscripted into the new Zimbabwe National Army that was a hybrid of ZANLA, ZIPRA and RNA. However, the ZANLA fighters some were not willing to lay down their arms until a particular or certain demand was met that they wanted, there were talks of representation of the government, ethnic representation of the government of that time. The majority were Shona speaking and English speaking and there a few Ndebele speakers. This then meant that the needs of the people in Matebeleland were in danger of not being met by the government. 

The stalling of the administration led to growing suspicion of those who went into the bushes representing  ZANLA and the government of Mugabe. This culminated in the military arms cache to be found around the farms that were owned by ZAPU. This then sparked the wrath of Mugabe, some schools of thought suggest that this was the outlet that Mugabe and his cronies where looking for to use to subdue Nkomo and his posey. To some an extent, it does make sense because what other means a megalomaniac would look for unless there is someone or something that could be manipulated to meet the demands of the political elite of Zimbabwe who are hellbound to curb all threats to create a hegemony that is meant to emulate the Kim dynasty of North Korea. This then saw the expulsion of Nkomo from the cabinet a few months later this then saw the invasion of Matebeleland by the infamous fifth brigade, thus then birthed Gukurahundi as it is known to this day. 

To set the record straight and dispelling some of the myths that have been peddled by the ZanuPF government through its state-owned mouthpieces. They have created a narrative of saying that Gukurahundi was a civil war between Shona people and Ndebele people. In one's view, that is a farce and a lie. Before one dives deeper into the reasons, one is expected to acknowledge the fact that indeed as any society with or when people who do not speak the same language meet or come across each other there is going to be a moment of bumping of heads which is normal. However, the way the ZanuPF government painted as if there were Shona people versus Ndebele people, trying to find a commonality with the Rwandan Genocide. In clearing the air in one's perspective; Mugabe had the key to control the 5th Brigade that is to say the military wing answered to Mugabe only and only him. As history dictates that the 5th brigade descended in Matebeleland, this then means that logically noting Mugabe descended on Nkomo in an indirect way. To further buttress the motion, the farm invasions of 2000/01 were charged by the war veterans, they only answered to Mugabe, the 2008 rerun election violence the MDC supporters who terrorised by the death squads of Mugabe and ZanuPF answered to Mugabe and his cronies, finally, the recent attacks on persons such as Hopewell Chin'ono, Jacob Ngarivhume, Tsitsi Dangarembga among other names. One can see it is the same tactics of 1982 to 1986 of pacifying all those who have been seen are against the ZanuPF government. Drifting back to submitting to the point that Mugabe was the one who brought death and calamity to Matebeleland, not Shona people. The reason being Mugabe wanted to put Nkomo into his place and he would not cause him any problems for the longest time. As it is evident from 1986 to 1999 Nkomo was more of like a ceremonial president who would take up the steering wheel when Mugabe was absent. 

The foundation of this article has been established one move over to the next point of discussion. That is rebuking, vehemently refuting and sadly smacking the face and start wagging their heads in debating with the Vice President Mr Kembo Mohadi. This then leads one to quote the statesman; the statesman in an article from the Online newspaper, News Zimbabwe dot com (NewZimbabwe.com). the media company wrote an article based on the utterances made by the statesman. Upon engaging with the article indeed it carries sentiments of hope basing from the echoes made by the statesman. Be that as it may in all honesty when one pays attention to the outrageous crime that was exhibited in the 80s by the Mugabe regime such historical crimes cannot be shelved. 

They cannot be shelved because this results and leaves to a lot of unanswered questions, basically what the statesman is saying is the same rhetoric as his colleague President Mnangagwa who came out to the people at a rally in numerous occasions saying, "let bygones be bygones". Frankly noting how can one say such a sweeping statement to someone who is still weeping to this day asking themselves what crime have they done that has led to the demise of their loved ones. The adverse dangers of such sweeping statements where officials take to the podium and utter such statements are that they themselves are peddling division within a fractured nation. That is to say the anger does not end with the persons who saw first hand the toxic wave of the 5th Brigade it is then passed on to the next generation, thus a cycle has been birthed, a cycle of doom and gloom. Cascading further this then will and has already led to pockets within the Matebeleland to slowly charge the motion and idea of breaking Zimbabwe in half along the Gwaai-Shangaan river. Thus where an autonomous Ndebele nation is and would be birthed. This all emanates from the utterances from such officials who are expected to hold honest dialogue with the nation and are bold enough to call a spade, a spade who are bold enough to accept that what happened in the past was and should never ever happen in a sovereign nation of great prestige such as Zimbabwe. The statements from Mr Mohadi, to one who has never witnessed Gukurahundi and had to make the individual investigation of reading articles one gets to establish that it was a dark time for Zimbabwe. Where greed and autocracy had fueled nothing but death and destruction in the newly born Southern African nation. One quotes from the statesman words as they have been transcribed by the article, "There are some people who say there has been Gukurahundi, there has been that, but who has not wronged the other?", indeed we all have errored and we all make mistakes. That is part of growing as a nation and as a community, however, paying attention to the fundamentals of reconciliation, one has to acknowledge the fact that being honest with oneself is the first step to redemption that is to say, would one want the fellow to carry on for four decades silently weeping and eventually dying without receiving any apology and witnessing those who were the architects of the massacre being brought to book. In any democratic society that is seeking healing and progression, there needs to be an open dialogue where all the immunities have to be placed aside and the people deal with the real problems in the nation. The article further discusses that "Survivors of the atrocities are still demanding the government to come clean on its role in the darkest period of post-independence Zimbabwe...". The country that has led and dealt with such a horrific event in her past in Rwanda. She witnessed her own children being engulfed by the storm of tribal violence that eventually led to a genocide. She "Rwanda" embraced the journey of reconciliation and has gone to great strides in embracing the past and looking forward to the future. Through embracing the areas where the genocide was hot, to this day the victims of the genocide bones are placed in museums where people can walk in and get a sense of the madness that had engulfed Rwanda. In Zimbabwe has that been achieved paying attention to the sweeping statements from Mr Mohadi and Mr Mnangagwa and the late Mr Mugabe who went on to lead a nation without even acknowledging what happened in 1982 to 1986 even to his dying days he never sought peace with the people he harmed. Their tacit reaction over and about the massacre is a tale-tell sign of who and what they are as statesmen, rather the whole movement of ZanuPF that it is not brave enough to sit down and be honest with the people. The reasoning as one interprets their slow or ignorant approach of embracing what happened in 1982 to 1986 is that they know that their influence will be diminished and will depreciate by the snap of a finger. Indeed the influence of the movement has depreciated ever since the turn of the new decade it is only a matter of time once and for all Zimbabwe and SADC and the rest of Africa will witness the downfall of the movement that has lost all credibility in its own backyard "emphasis added". 

The statesman further embraced the truth that, Zimbabweans are one irrespective of their cultural and ethnic background we are one which in actual fact is the truth. However, the failure to address the first crime against humanity in Zimbabwe indicates that they want the hate and rage and madness to carry on in the landlocked country. Mr Mohadi further says, "We want a united nation, hence where there is unity there is the development..." the rhetoric carries a Nelson Mandela like aura that discusses freedom and cohesion. This then led to the birth of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, the idea or theory does make sense and sounds all rosy and showed hope that in the madness a new nation was born. Years and decades on the same wounds are still bleeding the wounds that have and where thought to have been healed they are still bleeding. That is to note that the black South African was and is the recipient of the short end of the stick. Skipping the Limpopo landing in Zimbabwe that is the same sentiments rather aura in Zimbabwe that the Ndebele nation is receiving the short end of the stick. The nation is being told hey get over it, it happened some decades ago. This in turn is an insult to the victim and is an embarrassment to the people of Zimbabwe who have been given the moniker peace-loving nation. Which is a farce,the Zimbabwean has been living in fear and tyranny where the oligarchs are the ones who are enjoying the peace and tranquillity of Zimbabwe while the rest is cowering in fear and pain. Thus this echoes the fundamentals of genuine reconciliation in Zimbabwe not the farce Zimbabweans and the rest of the world are made to witness every day. Furthermore, one conceptualises the madness that has been embraced by Zimbabweans by the elite this then means that the elite themselves are not making swift action in addressing the whole issue they themselves have been talking and discussing about the Gukurahundi commission being led by chiefs. The Chiefs themselves in ones view are not taking swift action, that is to say, do they understand the vitality of leading the charge and bringing peace in Zimbabwe or it is a bunch of old people who are just being made to sit down and nod their heads while a bunch of useless information is being dished out to them. Some key players within the Chief's council are ZanuPF cronies who parade their loyalty in front of the nation but when one sits down and listens to what is being said by the "chief " it's another jester in the king's court or its another towns fool parading naked just to put a smile on a greed madened king. 

The premise of this article is to discuss the point that, "what has happened in the past cannot be shelved" there is a Zezuru (Shona) proverb that says "rina manyanga hariputirwi" translation, "the horns cannot be covered". It is evident in many facets rather historical hallmarks that have happened in Zimbabwe, the first instance was Gukurahundi 1982 to 1986, The Farm Invasions 2000 to 2001, a supposed third war for land was waged was in one's view one witnessed the death of all rights in Zimbabwe; The Operation Murambatsvina of 2005, The 2008 economical meltdown, The 2008 political election rerun violence, The State-sponsored abductions that have been happening from time immemorial, The Itai Dzamara among others missing person commission, the White City Stadium Bombing, the Mr Mnangagwa alleged poisoning of 2017, the January to Feb 2019 violence and finally the 2020 COVID19 state-sanctioned curfew and arrests of persons such as Tsitsi Dangarembga, Hopewell Chin'ono among others and finally "pardon the repetition" the attack of MDC in an attempt to form a passive opposition that yields to the wants and needs of ZanuPF. 

To conclude this essay  it can be noted that independence has not yet been realised in Zimbabwe. What has happened in the past cannot be shelved, the truth shall set you free.