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Zimbabwe marks 33 years of unity and peace today, hopeful that the stability will persist to ensure more holistic national development.

From 1982 to December 22, 1987, parts of Matabeleland region and Midlands Province witnessed civil disturbances that resulted in loss of life, injuries, displacements and a general sense of insecurity.

However, Zimbabweans under the leadership of Cde Robert Mugabe of Zanu (PF) and Dr Joshua Nkomo of PF-Zapu came together and talked over their differences. The two leaders signed the Unity Accord on that historic day. It is therefore exactly 33 years today since the signing of that agreement.

That is a moment that every Zimbabwean cherishes for no development can take place in an environment of conflict, war and division. Everyone would be concentrating on fighting the next person and no effort is out in building anything. Happily for us all, the Unity Accord brought all of us together as one people, Zimbabweans with one destiny, singing one national anthem and saluting one national flag.

But the point has to be made that for 30 years since the signing of the Unity Accord, we appeared to just wave away the period and events that gave rise to that agreement. In our hearts and minds we knew that the pact was preceded by substantial differences and fighting that led to loss of life, injuries and displacements.

We knew in our hearts and minds that some people who are alive today lost relatives in those regrettable disturbances. However, none of us had the courage to speak about the circumstances leading to December 22, 1987. It appeared the Unity Accord just dropped from heaven, with no on-the-ground context.

President Mnangagwa, on assuming office in 2017 broke the pervasive fear around the Gukurahundi disturbances. He told all of us to openly discuss that challenge and opened a forum for formal discussions around Gukurahundi, a forum which he attends religiously.

Only through confronting our past can we overcome the challenges of the past, heal and build genuine national unity and national healing, we have learnt over the past three years.
He made this point yesterday in a speech to mark Unity Day.

He says in our lead story today that his Government had the will and courage to confront the past so as to ensure national healing and closure.

“Peace-building, conflict-resolution and management must remain a binding feature of our national development agenda,” he said.

“Where there are differences, we must aim to settle and resolve them through dialogue and engagement. Further guided by our national Constitution, heritage and traditional value systems; toxic politics and divisive tendencies have no room in our society. By and large, we are a peaceful people and nation. My administration has the political will and boldness to confront the past and bring about healing and closure.

“I am encouraged by the success we are scoring towards building greater national cohesion and singleness of purpose informed by lessons from the disturbances which characterised the early years of independence.

To date, a concrete course of action has been drawn out following inclusive interventions and meetings held with traditional leadership and stakeholders of Matabeleland Provinces and parts of Midlands Province. — Decades have passed since that historic event of our Unity Accord.

“However, its conceptualisation must now go beyond narrow interpretation. Therefore, today as we remember and celebrate Unity Day, let us re-commit ourselves to the important virtues that bind us as a people and equally incorporate the importance of our unity within the transformative national economic agenda.”

The Second Republic’s courageous approach is the right one. The Government has had the National Peace and Reconciliation Commission playing a prominent role in that initiative. It is possible that some citizens, having gotten used to just wishing away the genuine, lingering unhappiness over Gukurahundi were fearful that that approach could backfire.

However, the freedom with which people are opening up in Matobo and other affected areas and at the forums that the President attends shows that the people are coming to terms with the past, and all of us know that one cannot heal genuinely before coming to terms with what injured them previously.