By Own Correspondent| An African advocacy group, Right2Know has called on former President Kgalema Motlanthe to ensure that Zimbabwe’s Commission of Inquiry into the 1 August killings is not a whitewash.

Right2Know  said it also shares the criticisms identified by the Zimbabwe Human Rights’ NGO forum that the commission needs to do far more to ensure a credible, transparent process: providing open access to media, creating a space for public participation (a room for 50 is totally unacceptable) and genuinely to examine the conduct of Zimbabwe’s soldiers.

The advocacy group calls on Motlanthe to ensure the following:

• A full investigation into who gave the command to send soldiers and for them to shoot to kill;
• Examine the use of military in other incidents of post-election violence noted by various observer missions in the first two weeks of August;
• Publish the Commission’s timetable and process for the sake of transparency;
• Provide for another round of submissions and witnesses – as there are many witnesses who have not had an opportunity yet to testify;
• President Motlanthe to provide his own email address or an alternative email address as people are concerned that the Secretariat are controlling what evidence gets to the Commission (Or to confirm that he personally has direct access to the COI email address provided so that he can confirm that he is receiving all submissions);
• Publish a transcript of the public hearings.-Right2Know