SWITZERLAND ambassador to Zimbabwe, Stephane Rey has been told to desist from meddling in the Gukurahundi hearings amid fears his involvement is an effort to sabotage the process and divide Zimbabweans.
Rey is said to have held meetings with traditional leaders, the Attorney-General, government officials and affected communities in the Matabeleland region to discuss Gukurahundi, in what is viewed as efforts to manipulate the planned hearings and derail reconciliation.
In February, Rey commended government’s decision to compensate investors whose land was acquired for resettlement but enjoyed protection under the bilateral investment promotion and protection
agreements.
He made the remarks after paying a courtesy call on Speaker of the National Assembly, Jacob Mudenda.
Rey also revealed that they discussed various issues that include peace-building initiatives and outreach programmes to address the Gukurahundi issue.
He said Switzerland supports government’s move to resolve the Gukurahundi issue once and for all.
“We also talked about Switzerland’s long-standing support to Zimbabwe since 2015 in the field of peace building,” Rey said.
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“We talked about the Swiss support, the Gukurahundi outreach programme with interviews of victims which will start soon.
“We supported the training of the traditional chiefs. This is also part of our very discreet support to Zimbabwean national priorities, the priority of national reconciliation.”
But this did not go down well with some people in Matabeleland.
In a statement dated April 23, Abantwana Bomzabalazo Chairman, Mgcini Ncube said the Swiss ambassador’s meddling in the Gukurahundi was part of efforts to sabotage the planned hearings and divide Zimbabweans.
“As Abantwana BoMzabalazo, an organisation representing the children of ZPRA [Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army] combatants, we write to sound the alarm on a grave and unacceptable threat to Zimbabwe’s sovereignty, unity and national healing,” Ncube said.
“It has come to our attention that the Swiss ambassador, cloaked in the robes of diplomacy, has been engaging in covert meetings with traditional leaders, the Attorney-General, government officials, and vulnerable communities in Matabeleland.
“His mission is to manipulate the sacred Gukurahundi hearings, derail reconciliation and fracture the very unity upon which our nation’s future depends on.”
Ncube said this was not diplomacy, but neo-colonial interference, and as Abantwana BoMzabalazo, they rejected it “with the contempt it deserves”.
“The Gukurahundi hearings are not a tool for foreign experiments. They are a sacred process initiated by Zimbabweans, for Zimbabweans to confront painful truths, bring justice to the victims, and lay the foundation for national unity,” Ncube said.
“These hearings, backed by the National Council of Chiefs, are an African-led initiative towards healing.
“Yet, foreign actors such as the Swiss ambassador, view this critical moment not as a chance to support peace, but as an opportunity to divide us.”
Ncube said disturbing revelations from within traditional and governmental institutions point to a systematic campaign by the Swiss embassy to interfere in these processes.
He noted that under the guise of “cultural exchange” or “development partnerships”, the ambassador has hosted closed-door sessions in Bulawayo, Plumtree and Gwanda.
“Attendees report subtle coercion to adopt narratives that distort the truth and misrepresent the purpose of the hearings,” Ncube said.
“Traditional leaders’ custodians of our cultural identity and community justice-are being courted with promises of funding and prestige, in exchange for muting grassroots voices in Matabeleland.
“This is nothing short of an assault on Zimbabwe’s path toward reconciliation and sustainable development, and a direct attempt to sabotage our 2030 development agenda.”
Ncube said Switzerland’s new-found interest in the country’s internal affairs raised serious questions, adding that historically neutral, it now appeared to be part of a broader Western effort to reassert control over African affairs through division, destabilisation and dominance.
He said similar tactics were employed in Libya, the Democratic Republic of Congo and now in Zimbabwe.
“Let the Gukurahundi process be community-led, not directed from European embassies,” Ncube said.
