Zanu-PF Politburo member Obert Mpofu says an apology by President Emmerson Mnangwagwa’s government over the Gukurahundi atrocities will be a disaster for the ruling party and the administration.

In a two part article published by a Bulawayo based weekly, Mpofu, who defected from PF-Zapu to Zanu in the 1980s, says it’s time to let bygones be bygones.  

“Let bygones be bygones, if Government is to be dragged into formally apologising, this will open closed wounds which may be catastrophic to the party and government,” said Mpofu.

Mpofu further argues that the Gukurahundi which saw more than 20 000 people, largely supporters of PF-Zapu, from Matabeleland and Midlands massacred by the army and state agents in the early 1980s was resolved by the signing of the Unity Accord in 1987.

“The Gukurahundi issue was resolved on 22 December 1987 by former President R G Mugabe and the late Vice-President J Nkomo. If discussions on Gukurahundi are to happen, Zanu-PF as the custodians of the Unity Accord should define the agenda and own the process,” said Mpofu.

He said discussions on Gukurahundi should be on identifying the victims and help them to access basic social services such as identification if there is need.

“Like any other disaster, a crisis of this sort is bound to create victims who have lost economic and social livelihoods. Some of these things can never be fully restored, instead the Government can recognise these people as victims and try to establish centres where they can be assisted,” said Mpofu.