MATABELELAND secessionist group Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) has petitioned the United Nations (UN) and other bodies over crimes of humanity allegedly committed by the Zanu PF government on citizens.
The petition to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres was copied to the International Criminal Court, International Court of Justice and the African Commission on Human Rights and People’s Rights, among others.
The petition comes at a time when MRP member Mkhululi Jele is facing a charge of disorderly conduct in a public place.
Jele was arrested for allegedly confronting Phakamani High School authorities over the harassment of pupils who protested tribal-aligned heritage studies.
In the petition, copied to the Southern African Development Community, the British embassy and various international news organisations, MRP president Mqondisi Moyo lamented crimes against humanity which he said were being committed by the Zanu PF regime since independence in 1980.
Moyo said the systematic and widespread human rights abuses, including torture, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings, were the norm in Zimbabwe.
“The lack of accountability and justice for past and ongoing human rights violations, perpetuating a culture of impunity, has been common practice.
“By exploring these critical issues we seek to make you understand the Zimbabwean government and Zanu PF’s role in crimes against humanity and to spark meaningful discussions on accountability, justice and human rights in Zimbabwe,” he said.
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“There has been widespread or systematic killing of civilians, including mass executions, massacres or targeted assassinations. There are acts committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, including killings, forced labour or other forms of persecution.”
Moyo, in the petition, told the UN that citizens are being enslaved by the government, adding that some citizens were being subjected to forced displacement from their homes or communities, often to distant locations without following due process.
“The intentional infliction of severe physical or mental pain or suffering upon a person often to obtain information, punish or intimidate is rampant,” he said.
Moyo said there was intentional and severe deprivation of fundamental rights and freedoms, including freedom of speech, assembly, or religion, mainly on discriminatory grounds.
He said incidents of arrest, detention or abduction followed by refusal to reveal their fate or whereabouts, often with the intent to silence or intimidate citizens, had become common practice.
Moyo said between 1983 and 1987, the Zanu PF government, led by the late Robert Mugabe, unleashed a brutal and systematic campaign of terror resulting in the massacre of an estimated 20 000 people in the Midlands and Matabeleland provinces.
MRP is pushing for the “restoration of Mthwakazi sovereignty, recognising the inherent right of the Mthwakazi people to nationhood and self-governance”.
“This includes international recognition of Mthwakazi's sovereignty and nationhood, control over its borders and territory, participation in international organisations and forums and the ability to engage in diplomatic relations with other nations.”
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has in the past said Zimbabwe is a unitary State hence those pushing for a split are daydreaming.
The MRP leader asked the UN to assist in providing a comprehensive process to address historical injustices, including the Gukurahundi killings.
