Calls for Gukurahundi Justice

Calls for Gukurahundi Justice

By SONJA DECHIAN | Published: NOVEMBER 17, 2011

Hundreds of Zimbabwean exiles gathered in South Africa this week to launch a new lobby group that will campaign for the trial of perpetrators of the Gukurahundi massacres as well as the reburial of victim’s remains.

A spokesperson for the group, Gukurahundi Genocide Victims for Justice (GGV4J) said, ‘we need to have those who died reburied; we need to bury our dear departed according to our own customs. We need to identify and engage with the survivors of Gukurahundi. There are a lot among us even here now. We are going to set up a platform where these survivors will come upfront and tell their stories to the whole world.’

An estimated 20,000 civilians were killed in the 1980s ‘Gukurahundi massacre’ carried out by Zimbabwean President Mugabe’s Fifth Brigade.

Last month, a mass grave containing as many as 60 victims of the massacre was discovered after a football pitch caved in during a game.