By A Correspondent- A Gukurahundi memorial plaque has reportedly been stolen in Silobela, Midlands Province, barely a fortnight after unknown people removed a similar structure in Bhalagwe, Matabeleland South Province.
The plaque was erected by Bulawayo-based pressure group Ibhetshu LikaZulu in memory of 12 villagers that were killed during the Gukurahundi massacres in 1985 in Silobela.
Speaking to NewsDay by phone on Sunday, Ibhetshu LikaZulu secretary-general Mbuso Fuzwayo blamed the State for the theft of the Silobela Gukurahundi memorial plaque. He said:
We hold the State solely responsible for the theft. We condemn in the strongest terms the theft of the memorial plaque.
Late last month, a Gukurahundi memorial plaque unveiled by Chief Fuyane with the support of Ibhetshu Likazulu in Bhalagwe, Maphisa was stolen barely hours after its erection.
The unveiling of the Bhalagwe memorial plaque was done during a memorial service held in memory of the people who lost their lives during the 1980s Gukurahundi massacres.
Over 20 000 people, mainly of Ndebele ethnicity were killed by the Fifth Brigade, according to the Catholic Commission for Peace and Justice, which compiled a book on the atrocities titled Breaking the Silence, Building True Peace: A Report on the Disturbances in Matabeleland and the Midlands, 1980 to 1988.