Nkulumane Member of Parliament, Desire Moyo, said the Gukurahundi Community Outreach Programme should be carried out in a manner that allows victims the freedom to forgive without undue pressure, reported the Southern Eye.
Just over a week ago, President Emmerson Mnangagwa officially launched the outreach programme in Bulawayo, aiming to bring closure to the emotive Gukurahundi issue.
The programme, which is led by traditional leaders, is intended to provide a platform for victims and survivors to express themselves in pursuit of healing and reconciliation.
Speaking in the National Assembly last week, Moyo said the outreach programme has the potential to facilitate national healing and reconciliation, provided it is conducted properly. He said:
I rise on a point of national interest, noting that over the weekend, the government launched an outreach programme on Gukurahundi hearings. The hearings will be led by the respective chiefs in Matabeleland.
I note that this process has the potential to bring about national healing and reconciliation if it is conducted in a good manner, devoid of political disturbances and submissive commentary. It has the potential to even heal the dead.
Moyo also urged Parliament to complement the Gukurahundi outreach process by developing legislation that would criminalize the justification of the killings.
In response, the Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda, suggested that Moyo could present his case and recommendations during the ongoing outreach programme. He said:
If you listened very carefully to the launch of the programme, it is an outreach programme where all those who feel they have something to say about the outreach programme are given an opportunity to do so and what you are proposing is crisscrossing the outreach programme unnecessarily.
Let us wait for the results of the outreach programme and obviously in terms of our processes, the report may be tabled before the House if it pleases His Excellency, the President.
Moyo said he hoped that the process would be carried out in a way that allows for voluntary forgiveness. He said:
I hope it will be done so that we have the freedom to forgive rather than being commanded to healing.
