President Emmerson Mnangagwa will meet traditional chiefs from Matebeleland to discuss and review progress made in addressing Gukurahundi issues.
Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi told the Chronicle that the meeting will go ahead as planned with chiefs expected to add “flesh on the agenda”
“The President is meeting chiefs, yes it’s correct,” Ziyambi confirmed.
Ziyambi said it was the Chiefs who called for the meeting with Mnangagwa and they will articulate their agenda.
“Ask the chiefs, we are just facilitators, we have been invited as well. I’m sure they will be happy to tell you because we don’t want it to appear as if it’s our meeting when it’s their meeting,” he said.
Mnangagwa will be accompanied by his deputy, Constantino Chiwenga and Local government Minister July Moyo as well as other senior government officials.
In June, Matebeleland traditional leaders called for the resignation of former MDC-T vice-president Obert Gutu from the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC) claiming he was conflicted and thus could not deal with the emotive Gukurahundi issue.
Gutu courted fire when he said the Gukurahundi issue was “a small tiny fraction of issues” his commission was seized with.
The Gukurahundi issue has been topical for decades with top political leaders skirting from addressing it.
It is alleged that more than 20 000 people lost their lives during the massacre in the Matebeleland region at the hands of the Fifth Brigade, a regiment with the Zimbabwe National Army in the early 1980s.