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Pamela Shumba Bulawayo Bureau

THE National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) has started preparing for exhumations and reburials of Gukurahundi victims, with the involvement of President Mnangagwa giving positive indications that the process will start soon.

NPRC chairperson Retired Justice Selo Nare said this to chiefs from Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North in Bulawayo on Tuesday during a workshop organised by Ukuthula Trust in preparation for the exhumations.

Ukuthula Trust is an expert organisation in the field of pathology and will conduct the exhumations.

Justice Nare was accompanied NPRC commissioner Mr Lesley Ncube.

Addressing the chiefs, Justice Nare said he met the President last week over the matter and it was agreed that the exhumations should start as soon as possible.

“The exhumation and reburials of Gukurahundi exhumations will start soon,” he said.

“We met President Mnangagwa to discuss the matter and he indicated that he wanted the affected people to go ahead with the exhumations and reburials.

“The involvement of the President gives us a positive indication that the process should kick off as soon as possible.”

Justice Nare said the NPRC will work with partners such as the Ministry of Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage, the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe, relevant Government departments and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“Ukuthula Trust found it fit to educate the chiefs on how the exhumation processes are done,” he said.

“We, therefore, took this opportunity to update the chiefs and Ukuthula Trust on how far we have gone in preparing for the processes of exhumations.

“It’s important for the chiefs to be engaged early because they will be involved in the exhumation processes and they have to be prepared and also inform affected people and villagers on the development.”

He advised chiefs to work with communities and the police in the identification process to prepare for the exhumations.

He said Gukurahundi was a burning issue in the Matabeleland region and Midlands province, hence the decision to start dealing with the issue in its peace and reconciliation process.

“Recently one of our commissioners, responsible for victim support and gender diversity, Ms Netty Musanhu was in Matabeleland region dealing with the female spaces, in the absence of men, to understand the experiences of women and their feelings,” he said.

The chiefs called on the NPRC to expedite the exhumation process so that affected people move on with their lives.