Peaceful Commemorations Disrupted On Peace Day
22 September 2021
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Bulawayo police yesterday disrupted International Peace Day commemorations organised by Ibhetshu LikaZulu, a local civic group seeking restorative justice and redress of the Gukurahundi issue.

Police stormed the meeting in central Bulawayo and briefly detained event organiser Mbuso Fuzwayo for allegedly convening an unsanctioned meeting.

Fuzwayo was released after the intervention of his lawyer Nqobani Sithole.

“As an organisation, we still have a position, and we are not convinced it is the best thing for us, especially when we are talking about the past injustices, to go and ask for permission from the police, CIO and the army; the reason being that they are the main perpetrators,” Fuzwayo told NewsDay.

“We have engaged the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission, even when we appeared before the jury where we raised that concern that we are not comfortable to either ask or inform these institutions because of the role they played in the past injustices.

“So our position is that if they want to have someone who they will be asking or informing, they have to create a structure for us to inform them about our activities around Gukurahundi,” Fuzwayo said.

The International Peace Day is a United Nations-sanctioned event commemorated on September 21 every year by observing a 24-hour period of non-violence.

The theme for this year’s commemorations was Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world.

-Newsday