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Shona term for “the rain that washes away the chaff (from the last harvest), before the spring rains”
1983-1987
Opposition Leaders: Joshua Nkomo
Opposition Groups: Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU) and its Zimbabwean People’s Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA)
Leader of Genocide: Robert Mugabe
Groups who Followed: Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and its armed wing, the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA)
Joshua Nkomo
Robert Mugabe
History of Gukurahundi
1. Classification - Tribal supremacists had a goal to make Zimbabwe an independent state, including only ethnic Shona people, putting them above all else. Wanting Ndebele people to never have any power. 5th Brigade wore distinguisng red berets.
2. Symbolism - Gukurahundi: Shona term for the first rains that cleanse all the dirt.
3. Dehumanization - Saw Ndebele people as ‘dissidents’ and ‘cockroaches’, infecting Ndebele language, identity and cultural practices and Shona people above all else, as the “superior” race.
4. Organization - Targeted areas primarily filled with Ndebele civilians.
5. Polarization - 5th Brigade only listened to the Prime Minister Robert Mugabe. Going as far as to make the codes they use, uniforms, equipment, and radios not compatible with any other army units.
6. Preparation - Robert Mugabe signed an agreement with the North Korean President (at the time) to train a brigade for the Zimbabwe army. He told the 106 new Korean soldiers that they were needed to “deal with dissidents and any other trouble in the country”. This was the start of the 5th Bridage, he then began training them for his future plans.
7. Extermination - Began in Matabeleland North, state security forces issued a curfew then started looting, and burning villages, and beating, mass raping, torturing and massacreing civilians. Then spread to Matabeleland South, where they issued a strict curfew, and enforced a food deprivation policy on a mainly Ndebele population ~350,000 Ndebele civilians were affected.
8. Denial - Blamed Gukurahundi on armed bandits coordinated by Zapu and a few subordinate, North Korean trained, 5th Brigade soldiers.
Embassy officials met with former Midlands governor Cephas Msipa, who said that Zanu PF ministers told him that the Gukurahundi massacres were planned by the parties central commitee.
During the killings, commander of the Fifth Brigade and now boss of the Air Force of Zimbabwe, said “politicians should leave it to us”.
Staff Reports said that Zanu PF ministers, Vice-President Emmerson Mnangwagwa, Defence minister Sydney Sekeramayi and the late Eddison Zvobgo were all aware of the massacres, with a goal to kill off all of Zapu and create a one-party state.
International huaman rights organizations turned a blind eye during the Gukurahundi Massacres.
It is estimated that 20,000 people were killed.
Ndebele people still face discrimination, threats, and unnemployment to this day. Making a ton of people start to leave Zimbabwe for their own safety and wellbeing.
The mass torturing of Ndebele citizens was said to be “designed to have devastating effects meant to last for generations.” Gukurahundi left thousands of Zimbabwe citizens with lasting trauma. People lost their houses, jobs, families, friends, etc.
1. “GUKURAHUNDI ATROCITIES.” MTHWAKAZI INDEPENDENT, 16 Apr. 2023, mthwakaziindependent.com/gukurahundi-atrocities.
2. Reporter, Guardian Staff. “New Documents Claim to Prove Mugabe Ordered Gukurahundi Killings.” The Guardian, 8 Mar. 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/19/mugabe-zimbabwe-gukurahundi-massacre-matabeleland.
3. Jean-Philippe StoneJean-Philippe recently graduated with a PhD in Modern History from the University of Oxford. He has a great interest in international relations, conflict resolution, human rights, and peacekeeping. “Tears After the Rain: The Legacy of the Gukurahundi Genocide in Zimbabwe.” The Organization for World Peace, 6 Jan. 2022, theowp.org/reports/tears-after-the-rain-the-legacy-of-the-gukurahundi-genocide-in-zimbabwe.
4. The NewsDay. “Mugabe&Amp;#8217;S Gukurahundi Role Exposed.” NewsDay, 18 May 2015, www.newsday.co.zw/2015/05/18/mugabe-exposed.