Machingura, The Judas Iscariot episode in the Zimbabwean Religio-Political debate...bodies of opposition parties and their followers in order to continue
exploiting the Zimbabwean resources.
Therefore opposition parties are alleged as pretending to be genuine
African parties run by local Zimbabweans. Yet they ‘sell out’ to foreign-
ers so as to get some money in return. In retaliation, ZANU-PF is por-
trayed as justified in using violence to protect the national sovereignty,
territorial integrity and independence of the country. B M Tendi notes
that:
The Second Chimurenga political culture of intolerance, labelling and dele-
gitimisation, violence, and military commandism carried into the post-
colonial period. These wartime political values were not transformed into
democratic values at independence.^43
The same violent tactics were incorporated against ZAPU leadership and
followers. The ‘Gukurahundi’ era heavily affected Matebeleland where
Mugabe had failed to get political support. However, the military action
in Matebeleland was said to have been aimed at ‘dissidents’ but the
civilian onslaught proved otherwise. Michael Auret adds that, ‘at first I
believed that the Zimbabwe military were combating dissidents, albeit
with extraordinary and unnecessary violence and indiscriminate killings
of many civilians’,^44 which changed his perspective about the govern-
ment. The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace observed that,
innocent villagers who had not been killed or abducted were frequently
forced to watch their relatives and friends dying from beatings, burn-
ings, shooting or bayoneting by the Fifth Brigade. To make matters
worse, the injured were not allowed to seek medical attention and risked
being shot. The villagers mostly from Matebeleland lost homes and
granaries which stored their food. According M Auret, ZANU-PF and
Mugabe used hunger as a political weapon and a weapon of war against
people in Matebeleland.^45 The violent culture has characterised the pre-
sent polarization in the Zimbabwean society, making it difficult to pro-
duce a proper ideology in the successful development and unity of the
Zimbabwean nation.^46
(^43) Tendi, Making History in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, 151.
(^44) Auret, From Liberator to Dictator, 81.
(^45) Auret, From Liberator to Dictator, 82.
(^46) F Machingura, “The Reading and Interpretation of Matthew 18:21-22 in Relation to
Multiple Reconciliations: The Zimbabwean Experience,” Exchange 39, 2010, 331-354;
See E Chitando, ‘Down with the Devil, Forward with Christ!’ A Study of the interface
between religious and political discourses in Zimbabwe’, African Sociological Review, 6