By Ryan Aliman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa
HARARE, Zimbabwe – Last Tuesday, the Zimbabwe parliament debated over whether or not to amend the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) Bill.
The bill has remained bogged down at the committee level of parliament since its creation two years ago. The main point of controversy is a clause that prevents Human Rights Commissioners from looking into cases on political violence that occurred before these Commissioners assumed office on February 2009. Several MDC-T legislators contend that the Bill should not be passed unless this particular clause is amended because perpetrators of the 2008 political violence, the 2005 Murambatsvina human rights violations and the Gukurahundi massacres will not be put to justice. For them, retaining the clause defeats the purpose of the ZHRC which is supposed to investigate all the issues relating to the genocide in Gukurahundi. They speculated that a reason the incumbent government is insistent in keeping this clause is that it is saving its members from being prosecuted.
Matabeleland Civil Society Organisations Forum (MCSF), a group composed of more than 40 civil society organisations from Matabeleland, also share this view. According to MCSF spokesperson Dumisani Nkomo, the country’s “narrative” about post-independence human rights violations will remain “incomplete” if cases on rights abuses prior to 2009 will not be dealt with. Nkomo reminded dissidents of the amendment that an estimated 20,000 people were massacred during the Gukurahundi genocide alone. “It is unwise to let such human rights violations go unpunished,” he said.
On the other hand, Senator Obert Gutu, the deputy Minister of Justice denied that legislators who supported the Bill “overlooked” the victims of political violence. He asserted that this is the best compromise the lawmakers could come up with at this time. “We see this as victory for the MDC because ZANU PF didn’t want this Bill at all. It’s an achievement for the MDC because we now have what we’ve been clamoring for, that is a Human Rights watchdog to monitor the elections… I know it falls short of the people’s expectations but let’s also not forget that the Human Rights Commission has not been operational, in spite of the fact that its members have been in office for over two years, since being sworn in by Mugabe in March 2010,” Senator Gutu asserted.
Lawyer and pro-democracy activist Dewa Mavhinga and political analyst Zenzele Ndebele partly supported this view. According to them, citizens should consider the context of the Bill. It was created by “a negotiated government that is characterised by compromise”. Thus, the passing of the Bill in Parliament does not necessarily mean impunity for past abuses. As Mavhinga suggested, “the challenge that is there now is to find appropriate mechanisms to deal with past abuses and ensure that the period preceding the formation of the unity government is also covered.”
For further information, please see:
News Day – Gukurahundi: MDC Parties Under Fire – 12 July 2012
News Day – MDCs: Remember the People – 12 July 2012
All Africa – Zimbabwe: Heated Debate As Rights Commission Bill is Tabled in Parliament – 11 July 2012
The Zimdiaspora – Gukurahundi Debate Haunts Mugabe – 10 July 2012
