Chiefs Tricked Into Whitewashing Gukurahundi, Says Ndiweni
Ousted Ntabazinduna Chief Felix Nhlanhlayemangwe Ndiweni has warned traditional leaders that they will be used by President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government to “white-wash” the Gukurahundi genocide.
Ndiweni, who is currently living in the United Kingdom, wrote a 17-page petition directed to Attorney-General Prince Machaya in which he argued that chiefs have no jurisdiction over matters such as the Gukurahundi.
Ndiweni argued that traditional leaders can only deal with civil matters. He wrote:
Where have the chiefs obtained this power to adjudicate on the genocide? Some wrongly argue that the chiefs are coming into the genocide matter because of the exhumation of bodies and reburial, that requires a traditional, custom and practice component.
As far as the administration is concerned, that would be the end of the Ndebele genocide.
Clearly, the chiefs have been hoodwinked into the process and are being used as a shield by the administration, so that they may whitewash the Ndebele genocide.
Ndiweni made the remarks after Mnangagwa recently tasked traditional leaders to preside over exhumation and reburial of the victims of the brutal genocide.
Meanwhile, Machaya said he had not yet seen Ndiweni’s petition and in any case, it would be wrong for such a petition to be directed to the Attorney General’s office.
