Plumtree businessman and aspiring Mangwe constituency Zanu-PF MP Obedingwa Mguni has defended the Gukurahundi atrocities saying the victims provoked the massive killings, as they were not satisfied with the “fair” elections that put President Mugabe in power in 1980.
Gukurahundi was executed by North-Korean-trained Fifth Brigade and resulted in the killing of over 20 000 civilians.
The spate of violence ended after Zanu and Zapu reached a unity agreement on 22 December 1987, that merged the two parties to form one party, Zanu-PF.
Addressing Bulawayo journalists during a press club in Bulawayo, Mguni said Gukurahundi was prompted by people who were unhappy by the results of Zimbabwe’s first polls.
“The Gukurahundi issue did not just come from the air, there were some of our colleagues who were not satisfied about the outcome of the fair elections that were held and then they decided to take the law into their own hands which in any country is not allowed, so the Government was supposed to take action against them,” said Mguni.
He said some of the elements during that action were mischievous and did what they were not instructed to do.
“So I can not put a grudge on that thing and say I am going to build Zimbabwe, that war came and it is gone,” said Mguni.
He said he had witnessed a lot of deadly wars elsewhere and people could afford to forgive each other after that.
“Some of us have to forgive because it was a war,” said Mguni.
Government is yet to acknowledge Gukurahundi and compensate the families of the victims.
Makhosi Sibanda May 29, 2013
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