It is sometimes necessary to sit on the fence when reporting the news and attempt to remain neutral. This won’t be one of those times, so if you happen to be a fan of Robert Mugabe I suggest you head over to one of his propaganda-ridden news outlets and read about the glorious leader’s latest exploits elsewhere. That is, of course, if you can read.

This latest little titbit of information has long been suspected but now, thanks to newly released historical documents, we can be fairly certain that ‘ol Bob was behind the brutal massacre of his fellow countrymen which began in 1983. The Ndebele people were victim to sustained violent attacks in order to further entrench Mugabe’s political support.

The excerpts below are taken from the Daily Maverick:

The documents appear to show that the massacres were closely associated with an effort by Mugabe’s Zanu-PF party to eliminate opposition groups in the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s independence. Zapu, a party led by nationalist rival, Joshua Nkomo, represented the main obstacle to that objective. Given that Zapu enjoyed overwhelming support among Ndebele, the Ndebele as a whole came to be seen as an impediment. In the words of Mugabe, the people of Matabeleland needed to be “re-educated”.

Of course re-education wouldn’t be administered through books and lessons but rather through the use of the North Korea-trained 5th Brigade. What followed was a series of mass killings, with some estimating that up to 20 000 Ndebeles were killed.

Sydney Sekeramayi, the minister in Mugabe’s office with responsibility for Defence…said that “not only was Mugabe fully aware of what was going on—what the 5^th Brigade was doing was under Mugabe’s explicit orders…

Eddison Zvobgo, a member of Zanu’s 20-member policy-making body, spoke of a “decision of the Central Committee that there had to be a ‘massacre’ of Ndebeles…

If you’ve noticed a thinly-veiled sentiment of disgust running through this post you’ve done well.

The evidence against Mugabe and his cronies can be read in full HERE. Once you’re done you might enjoy a chuckle at Mugabe’s expense HERE.

[source:dailymaverick]