The Gukurahundi was a series of mass killings and genocide in Zimbabwe which were committed from 1983 until the Unity Accord in 1987. The campaign targeted mainly the Ndebele ethnic group and supporters of opposition leader Joshua Nkomo. The name derives from a Shona language term which loosely translates to "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains".

During the Rhodesian Bush War, two rival nationalist parties, Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) and Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), had emerged to challenge Rhodesia's government. ZANU initially defined Gukurahundi as an ideological strategy aimed at carrying the war into major settlements and individual homesteads. Following Mugabe's ascension to power, his government remained threatened by "dissidents" – disgruntled former guerrillas and supporters of ZAPU.

ZANU recruited mainly from the majority Shona people, whereas ZAPU was neither a tribal nor a regional party. While ZAPU had its greatest support in Matebeleland, amongst the Ndebele, Kalanga, Sotho, Venda, Tonga, Xhosa and other tribes found in Matebeleland, it also enjoyed significant support within the Shona communities in Midlands, Mashonaland, Manicaland and Masvingo provinces. This is signified by the large number of people of Shona origin within the top ZAPU leadership structures prior to, and after independence in 1980. These included the vice presidents of ZAPU, who originated mainly from Shona speaking areas. In early 1983, the North Korean-trained 5th Brigade, an infantry brigade of the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), began a crackdown on dissidents in the Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, and Midlands provinces, home of the Ndebele and Kalanga. Over the following two years, thousands of Ndebele and Kalanga were detained by government forces and either marched to re-education camps, tortured, raped and/or summarily executed. Reporting on the death toll of the campaign is sharply divided. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe confirmed a minimum death toll of 2,750, noting that potential deaths could reach 8,000. The consensus of the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) is that more than 20,000 people were killed.

Background

Before the Rhodesian Bush War, the main black nationalist organisation in Southern Rhodesia, the Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), split into two groups in 1963, the split-away group being the Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU). then prime minister, had signed an agreement with North Korean leader Kim Il Sung in October 1980 to have the North Korean military train a brigade for the Zimbabwean army. This was soon after Mugabe had announced the need for a militia to "combat malcontents." Mugabe replied by saying dissidents should "watch out," announcing the brigade would be called "Gukurahundi". This brigade was named the Fifth Brigade. The members of the Fifth Brigade were drawn from 3,500 ex-ZANLA troops at Tongogara Assembly Point, named after Josiah Tongogara, the ZANLA general. There were a few ZIPRA (ZAPU) troops in the unit for a start, but they were withdrawn before the end of the training. The training of 5th Brigade lasted until September 1982, when Minister Sekeramayi announced training was complete.

The first Commander of the Fifth Brigade was Colonel Perrance Shiri. The Fifth Brigade was different from all other Zimbabwean army units in that it was directly subordinated to the Prime Minister office, and not integrated to the normal army command structures. Their codes, uniforms, radios and equipment were not compatible with other army units. Their most distinguishing feature in the field was their red berets.

Conflict and killings

In January 1983, a crackdown by the Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland North was initiated to purge the dissidents, and its participation lasted until late 1984. The brigade's directives apparently specified a search for local ZAPU officials and veterans of ZAPU's armed wing, the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA). Seizure or detention by the Fifth Brigade was arbitrary. In Bulawayo, for instance, Ndebele men of fighting age were considered potential dissidents and therefore, guilty of subversive activities. Most detained were summarily executed or marched to re-education camps.

Most of the victims were shot in public executions, often after being forced to dig their own graves in front of family and fellow villagers. On occasion the Fifth Brigade also massacred large groups of Ndebele, seemingly at random—the largest such incident occurred in March 1983, when 62 young men and women were shot on the banks of the Cewale River, Lupane. Seven survived with gunshot wounds, the other 55 died. Another way 5 Brigade used to kill large groups of people was to burn them alive in huts. They did this in Tsholotsho and also in Lupane. They also would throw victims alive in disused mine, case in point at Bhalagwe camp which was close to the Antelope mines near Maphisa, Kezi. They would routinely round up dozens, or even hundreds, of civilians and march them at gun point to a central place, like a school or bore-hole. There they would be forced to sing Shona songs praising ZANU, at the same time being beaten with sticks. These gatherings usually ended with public executions. Those killed could be ex-ZIPRAs, ZAPU officials, or anybody chosen at random. The Zimbabwe government repudiated these allegations and accused the hostile foreign press of fabricating stories. Zimbabwean Minister for National Security Sydney Sekeramayi countered that allegations of atrocities were part of a ZAPU disinformation programme to discredit the army.

The government characterised such allegations as irresponsible, contrived propaganda because it failed to give proper weight to the violence by dissidents, who targeted ZANU officials. It is estimated that 700–800 people were murdered by dissident gangs in rural regions. In August 1985, dissidents massacred 22 Shona civilians in Mwenezi. On a mission farm in Matobo, dissidents massacred 16 people.

Death estimates

The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace in Zimbabwe documented at least 2,000 deaths, and speculated that the actual number could be as high as 8,000. Locals from the affected regions put the figure between 20,000 and 40,000. Journalist Heidi Holland referred to a death toll of 8,000 as a typical conservative estimate. In February 1983 the International Red Cross disclosed that 1,200 Ndebele had been murdered that month alone. In a unanimously adopted resolution in 2005, the International Association of Genocide Scholars estimated the death toll at 20,000.

Zimbabwean author Christopher Mlalazi wrote a novel on the Gukurahundi killings from a child's perspective, Running with Mother (2012). It is also covered in NoViolet Bulawayo's Booker-shortlisted novel Glory.

A Zimbabwean scholar, Ruth Murambadoro has also advanced conversations through her publications on reconciliation and justice in the aftermath of Gukurahundi, which includes her article "'We cannot reconcile until the past has been acknowledged': Perspectives on Gukurahundi from Matabeleland, Zimbabwe" in the African Journal on Conflict Resolution.

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  • Documentary film: (director: Robyn Paterson, 2012) includes interviews with Zimbabwean civilians and refugees about Gukurahundi and the policy of Mugabe