BY TAFADZWA KACHIKO PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnangagwa has admitted that most people in areas that were affected by the Gukurahundi disturbances soon after independence do not have identity documents and birth certificates.
Writing in his weekly Sunday Mail column, Mnangagwa said: “In my interaction with many rural communities, especially in areas affected by the troubles that befell us in the early years of our independence, it became very clear to me that many of our citizens had no birth certificates, identity cards, let alone a passports. Those affected felt they were living on the fringes of citizenship, and rightly so.”
Mnangagwa said this had resulted in delayed healing for the victims and was a painful reminder of the trauma they endured and experienced.
He blamed the failure of the victims to get documents to many factors that include the “onerous and rigid” registration requirements demanded by government.
Ibhetshu LikaZulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo said: “The whole year he (Mnangagwa) is speaking about giving people birth certificates. What’s stopping the issuance of death and birth certificates? He had promised to give families whose parents were killed or disappeared, but nothing has been given.”
The 1980s Gukurahundi era resulted in more than 20 000 unarmed civilians being brutally murdered by government forces.
Political analyst Effie Ncube urged Mnangagwa to come up with a holistic, credible and sincere solution for Gukurahundi victims.
Chief Nyangazonke of Kezi told NewsDay that a couple of meetings have been held to come up with lasting solutions to the issue. He said it was also important that “stakeholders must go through training on conflict resolution”.
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