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The time for us to forgive each other hasn't come yet
Willie Muringani
June 04, 2009

Willie Muringani-s speech, a participant at ROHR Zimbabwe workshop in Gweru:

We are discussing and referring all our point far back there, we are talking about history, isn-t it? We are talking about Gukurahundi? We also talked about what happened in Midlands? Murambatsvina? And perhaps we talked of something that is there about what happened in June? Isn-t it?

Zvinhu zvakaoma (Things are tough) is this the correct time to talk ladies and gentlemen, to talk about national reconciliation, truth and justice and compensation? Now! Is it correct? Do we trust the government? Do we trust the police? - We don-t trust these people isn-t it?

I think earlier on somebody said we got a window and we should prioritise the things that we have at stake. We need to use the window that we have, to correct the situation that is there. How do we correct the situation?

If we manage to write the constitution of this country and also make sure that the people who are going to use that constitution do not break it, are honest people then we go ahead ,then we can look at national healing, then we look at reconciliation. How can you look at reconciliation now when people are being brutalised at farms? Now! Unozviita sei izvozvo? (how do you do that?). People have just been arrested recently?

Handiti Muchadehama asungwa, (Rights lawyer Muchadehama has been arrested), Jestina and others are being recalled to Chikurubi prison isn-t it? So you can actually see what is happening, we are right on the road. The inclusive government cannot do it? they cannot do it! They are having at the moment sticky cases that they cannot come out of.

I-m appealing to ROHR that meetings of this nature should be taken out in the rural areas, where there are a lot of people there who need to be opened up. Isu muno (us here) in the urban areas sometimes we read papers isn-t it? We open u a little bit isn-t it?

Like the other gentleman who indicated that panopuhwa chibage zvonzi chibage chakanzi chinozouya kuna nhingi (when maize is being given it is distributed selectively to predetermined people), you know you can-t tackle that one. If we are able to open up, what is in the rural areas and tell those people and try to educate, those people need education.

I think you people you are well aware last time before the 29 March elections, a lot of things changed. Maconstituencies akachinja (constituencies were changed) because there was a point that more people were in the rural areas, manga musingazvioni here? (Were you not aware of that?), most of the people in the rural areas were being targeted so that they could put the same people in power and continue to frustrate and stamp on the people.

No, no I think nguva yekuti tiregererane aisati yasvika (The time for us to forgive each other hasn-t come yet) [audience applause] because we know who killed who killed who [applause] Ndinoziva nhasi akaponda nhingi akaponda munin-ina wangu ndinomuziva, (I know today the person(s) who murdered my young brother) at the moment and nothing has been done ,hapana chakaitwa (Nothing has been done).

So, you can-t talk about that one, we need to foster through timboona kuti constitution ingaitwa here. (Wait and see if the constitution can be done)

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