Why Mnangagwa should apologise

Politics
I watched with disappointment last week the response given by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to a question posed by Mishal Husain at the World Economic Forum in Davos whether he would apologise for the atrocities in the Midlands and Matabeleland in the 1980s. His response was evasive.

I watched with disappointment last week the response given by President Emmerson Mnangagwa to a question posed by Mishal Husain at the World Economic Forum in Davos whether he would apologise for the atrocities in the Midlands and Matabeleland in the 1980s. His response was evasive. By Kevin Sifiso Malunga

He wasted an easy opportunity to apologise for a dark period in the country’s history which cannot simply be dismissed as “a moment of madness” as the former president Robert Mugabe described it. I am from Matabeleland, born in Bulawayo with a claim to rural roots in the Midlands which are the affected areas. I have seen firsthand the negative effects of the economic and political meltdown in Zimbabwe on the quality of life and dignity of its people. Many in the diaspora live soul destroying lives on the fringes of their adoptive countries as a result of the wanton impunity of the state which they ran away from. I have been fortunate to ply my trade at the highest level in South Africa. Not many have been so fortunate given the backlash many Zimbabweans receive merely for being Zimbabweans by birth. Many with similar roots to mine found the Zanu PF government of the past 37 years alienating at best and brutal and murderous at worst. The word Zimbabwean has been a rude word in many places for the past 15 to 20 years.

For the uninitiated, Gukurahundi was a series of massacres of mostly Ndebele civilians or those perceived to be aligned to opposition forces carried out by the Zimbabwe National Army from early 1983 to late 1987. It derives from a Shona language term which loosely translates to “the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains”. Many people who have attempted to strike a conversation with me about their perception of the chivalry of Mugabe have always been taken aback by how quickly I rebuff them. In fact, during my youth many people in the affected areas used disparaging language to refer to the head of state with nicknames like “magogorosi” i.e spectacles and promptly switched off their televisions whenever he appeared.

Mnangagwa should see the success of “Operation Restore Legacy” as an opportunity to start on a clean slate and show that the talk of a “new Zimbabwe” is not merely lip service. He has said the voice of the people is the voice of God. Well God regardless of whether you view him from the prism of African belief systems, Christianity, Islam or Judaism prescribes forgiveness and contrition. Apologies along with reparations are a common theme. You cannot restore a country economically and politically and fail to attend to its social cohesion. National reconciliation is a project which the president should lead and not fob off to a vice-president. I regard Vice-President Kembo Mohadi (whom I have known since my boyhood when was a Zapu MP for Beitbridge) highly, but I am convinced that this is too big a project to allocate to a department that appears to be merely part of ticking the boxes so as to keep what some call the “purveyors of Gukurahundi” quiet. As I have seen in other cases there will probably be some ethnically laced vitriol in my direction from some denialists on social media. That on its own is an indication of how fractured social cohesion is.

I briefly met the president on August 30 1994 on the tarmac of Harare International Airport as I was introduced to the group of dignitaries (who were there to bid a visiting head of state farewell) by Simon Khaya Moyo on my way from Swaziland where I was a student coming for my late father Sidney Malunga’s funeral. As usual the president was in the company of Mugabe as a trusted lieutenant. Only those who seek to rewrite history will attempt to delink the current leadership from what happened in the 1980s and at all other material times. In fact, as early as November22 1980 Sidney Malunga and other Zapu leaders had been arrested allegedly on the orders of the then Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s office Emmerson Mnangagwa, which action was condemned by Joshua Nkomo at the time. Certainly, I presume that I speak for many when I say that I want to know what happened to Sidney Malunga, Jini Ntuta and others.

One of South Africa’s strengths which the new Zimbabwe should attempt to emulate, of course tailor-made to its own needs is the strength of its institutions which I have been an integral part of strengthening. Zimbabwe should strive to build big institutions and avoid the big man syndrome which has damaged it for so long. For 37 plus years Zimbabwe has subscribed to the “chef is right” mentality. During the country’s decline there was a sycophantic civil service along with a sycophantic judiciary propped up by a sycophantic state media. When Mugabe and in later years his wife took the country down a suicidal path they were simply obeyed and very often cheered on. The colourful facts leading up to Operation Restore Legacy are a clear indication that the president is fully aware how dangerous his erstwhile comrades can be. From the alleged arsenic laced ice cream to the 30km run/walk across the border into Mozambique, he knows how lethal the people he was working with are. He took the threats seriously. To this end, I’m sure most citizens in and out of the country want a full explanation of all other atrocities committed by the state.

By the way, the apology should not be just for Gukurahundi. He should apologise for “collectively” stealing the dignity of Zimbabwe’s people which he has now promised to restore. He should apologise for separating people from their families, to grandparents who now speak to their grandchildren via Skype and WhatsApp. He should apologise for being part of a government that presided over the collapse of what was once Africa’s most vibrant economy. He should apologise for the cruelty of the implementation of Murambatsvina and other ill-advised or badly implemented state-sponsored initiatives. The rule of law must be restored. The Constitutional Court has ruled decisively on dual citizenship yet the bureaucracy led by the Registrar-General has continued to obfuscate and avoid implementation of the decision. One clear path to recovery will be to acknowledge that Zimbabweans hold the citizenship of many other countries around the world. This state of affairs is in keeping with globalization, but also with the fact they were forced to leave their country of origin as a result of what for many years has been regarded as a failed state.

The president was part of a collective of the then government when Gukurahundi happened as he has correctly observed. This is an even more valid reason why he should apologise because it is not something he simply heard about or read on the news. He was there. The extent of his personal involvement is neither here nor there. A president is the custodian of a country’s value system. This reasoning would suggest that another apology should come from Zanu PF which he now heads. Apologies in and of themselves can be a simple case of malicious compliance and unless sincere cannot always be taken seriously. More action over time is needed over and above the words. A South African style Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) with full powers of reparation (which has been adopted by many post-conflict societies) should be established with speed. In terms of international law, the present government is a successor in title of its predeccessors.Why do you think the debt to the IMF and other entities is still valid? We might as well say it was Mugabe, he should pay!

Some of the president’s defenders have presented a fair argument that he does not have to apologise to pander to an international journalist.

That is true. He should apologise to the victims and their families. However, apologising on the international stage would have been an international game changer for Zimbabwe. When he does apologise, it would have maximum resonance if the whole world is listening.

I read with a sense of amusement that Bulawayo Resident Minister Angelina Masuku was booed off a stage when she allegedly tried to spin Gukuruhandi last week. If anything, this is a taste of things to come if the issue is not tackled head on and maturely. I doubt that the president would want to unleash the military or police against the people again. Without a sincere apology and proper reparations my guess is that the legitimacy of the president and his government will always be questioned by the people of Matabeleland and the Midlands provinces and other places as was the case with Mugabe. The president has said a lot of good things regarding economic policy, human rights and other fundamentals of good governance but he has dropped the ball dismally on Gukurahundi. A genuine apology will not be a sign of weakness but an act of strength, contrition and social cohesion.

He deserves better advice. This is my small contribution

l Kevin Sifiso Malunga born and raised in Bulawayo is an Advocate and Deputy Public Protector of South Africa