Below is ZANU PF leader Emmerson Mnangagwa’s response to the demand for an apology over the killing of 22,000 Ndebeles during Gukurahundi.

Today Mnangagwa was told to his face he has to apologise to the people for annihilating civilians for naught between 1983-84 when he described people as pests who must be wiped out with DDT, statements he has also repeated just a few months ago when he killed an additional 17.

Responding, Mnangagwa said:

Today I was in Bulawayo to meet Matabeleland civil society organisations and discuss issues facing the region, as part of an ongoing dialogue with local groups. We are committed to dialogue and cooperation as a means to address and resolve issues between the different strands of our nation. We will continue to talk and to listen, and to deal with our differences with sensitivity, compassion and respect. To the people of Matabeleland and all Zimbabweans, my door remains open.