Presidential Spokesperson George Charamba has been cautioned by
Matebeleland Collective (MC) to desist from uttering words that seek to undermine the effects of the Gukurahundi genocide.
Charamba angered the MC by telling the private media that:
“There was conflict, which claimed lives and you noticed I never used words such as atrocities because if you are true to history, you will know that in a conflict situation atrocities do happen on both sides of the conflict. We do have quite a number of people who died or suffered at the hands of the dissidents. We also have quite a number of people who are said to have suffered at the hands of security forces then.”
MC responded to Charamba saying:
“Mr Charamba remember 20000 innocent souls died -a high percentage still lying on unmarked graves. Your attempt to explain this away as a ‘conflict’ questions the sincerity on Government implementation matrix point 4, your allegation also dis-empowers victims from speaking openly.
“Gukurahundi concerns people’s lives and is not an issue to politic or trifle with. Let’s treat all discussions with sensitivity and respect. Let’s not use it to score cheap political points.
“Regarding recent pronouncements Charamba MC wishes to remind Mr Charamba of item 4, especially the implementation modalities: devise protections mechanisms for those affected by Gukurahundi to be free to discuss their experiences.”
Bulawayo24
