TRADITIONAL leaders mandated to spearhead the Gukurahundi community consultative processes must do so using indigenous methods and terminologies without resorting to alien languages and vocabulary.
In addition, all traditional leaders and expert advisors will come from the affected provinces of Matabeleland North, South and the Midlands.
In an interview with journalists, Chief’s Council vice president Fortune Charumbira said traditional leaders would use local languages, and would not be allowed the use of exotic words such as genocide in the consultations.
Speaking in Bulawayo on the sidelines of a Gukurahundi sensitisation media workshop being attended by editors and senior journalists, Chief Charumbira said: “This exercise is based on cultural or traditional ways of resolving conflicts within our jurisdiction. If you say genocide, it is something alien to us as traditional leaders.
“Allow us as traditional leaders to use methods of peacemaking and conflict resolution within our tradition and jurisdiction. We have seen it in Rwanda and it has worked wonders in terms of peacemaking.
“Let’s not import other languages, or terminologies which are not within our cultural ways of doing things. If you say genocide, how does it fit in our traditional context? Maybe it fits in other jurisdictions. This is for chiefs. We want to resolve it in our traditional context which has survived over centuries.”
He was commenting on remarks he made on Thursday that the political disturbances that occurred in Matabeleland and the Midlands in the early 1980s, while regrettable, could not be termed as “genocide”.
Commenting on the consultative processes they were carrying out, Chief Charumbira said after concluding their work, those affected would be entitled to compensation from the Government.
“I can confirm that there will be compensation for clear cases, verified, regarding how they suffered, what they lost. The President himself has said we will compensate and that is why we are going out to have all these cases verified,” he said.
“Ultimately whenever there has been conflict, it should be resolved. If Rwandans did it and have already resolved it, we should also aim to resolve our problems”.
Chief Charumbira implored those in the diaspora who were affected by Gukurahundi to come and engage their traditional leaders so that they form part of the final report.
The panel that will engage the communities, he said, would be from local communities including traditional leaders, village heads, counselling experts, and religious leaders.
“No chief from outside the affected area will interact with people. It will be the local chiefs. We have a panel of pastors, youths, counselling experts but all these people are locals, no one from outside. People say we have left out the Midlands. But this is Part One, it will give us some insight into the best ways to address the Gukurahundi issue. We will move to the Midlands after Matabeleland South and North and any other area,” Chief Charumbira said.
