CIO tortured Mabhena – family

The Zimbabwean

12 October 2010

BULAWAYO – As the late Welshman Mabhena was buried at  Lady Stanley Cemetery on Saturday, his relatives lamented the torture that the departed politician suffered under Zanu before the Unity Accord of 1987.

Family spokesman, Norman Mabhena told The Zimbabwean: “The assault by Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) operatives and other pro Gukurahundi activists, under the control of President Robert Mugabe, was severe. Welshman’s incarceration at Eiffel Flats and Kadoma Prison led to a decline in his health.”
Asked to comment on Norman’s accusations, David Coltart, a lawyer who represented many ZAPU cadres responded, “In 1985, after the election, Zanu (PF) targetted the ZAPU leadership. They detained Edward Ndlovu, Sydney Malunga, Welshman Mabhena, Steven Nkomo, Johnson Ndlovu, and other leaders. I was instructed to represent Edward Ndlovu and Sydney Malunga.
“In the second half of 1986, the trial began. Welshman Mabhena had been detained all this time. We were told that it was for his own security, because he was going to be the principal witness against them. As the lead witness, his first act was to say, ‘What is written in these statements is a lot of nonsense because it has been tortured out of me.’ He then gave great detail about the way in which he had been tortured. And of course the case collapsed instantly. Ultimately they were all released.”
Pressed to say more on the torture of ZAPU cadres, Coltart said, “Well, speaking as a lawyer, it was against the convention against torture. It was extreme torture. I am going (according) to what Sydney Malunga was subjected to. He was given falanga. He was given water board treatment, you know, the sack treatment, the water treatment. He was beaten, had bruises all over his body. He was severely tortured and Mabhena told me that he was tortured like Malunga.”

We all suffered

Dumiso Dabengwa, President of the Zimbabwe African People’s Union (ZAPU), shared the late Welshman’s pre-1987 view on torture. Asked to comment, Dabengwa said, “I don’t think you’re being fair by talking about torture. There was genocide. Thousands of lives were lost during the period. And it certainly affected almost everybody in this region. There is no one who comes from Matebeleland who would say, “No! I did not, we did not, suffer from the Gukurahundi operations. Many people lost not just their parents, they lost relatives and many of them. And I am sure that this affected Mabhena very much. I remember when I finally came out of detention. He related to me what happened. He said, ‘You are lucky because, you were in detention. What was happening outside here, you would have not wanted to see it.’ And most of us are questioning why ever we got involved in the liberation struggle. How can such things happen when the country is liberated?”
By conferring national hero status, Zanu (PF) has forestalled a torrent of criticism waiting to be unleashed. However, a rule allowing bereaved families to choose the time and place of burial came in handy.
Asked whether the Mabhena family had wronged government, Dabengwa said, “Government may have its own wishes that the deceased should be laid to rest at the National Heroes Acre, but the family is the final decision maker. And therefore, I am not surprised that the Mabhena family have decided to have him buried here instead of at the National Heroes Acre in Bulawayo. I am sure that they have made known their reasons to government. Many of our national heroes are buried outside the Heroes Acre.”

Genuine patriots

Zanu (PF) has failed to decorate, with honour, genuine patriots like Lookout Masuku, Masala Sibanda and Swazini Ndlovu. The state’s response to the death of many great men has led to dissent among bereaved families. Many are now refusing to bury their loved ones at the national hero’s acre in Harare.
Says Dabengwa, “After Swazini Ndlovu died we wrote background and sent it to Harare. There was no word. Vice President Msika was with me. And there was no word that came. Only on the day of the funeral was it suggested that he is now given a national hero’s status and the Ndlovu family said, ‘No! He will be buried here. Thank you for the hero’s status that you have accorded him, but we will bury him here.’ It’s been the same thing with Masala Sibanda. It was the same thing with a number of others.”
Inevitably Zanu (PF)’s “gesture of respect” for the late Welshman Mabhena was not appreciated by Norman Mabhena. He castigated the honour saying, “Some people consider that only Zanu (PF) and its Politburo can bestow honour on persons. Well the Mabhena family strongly differs. We believe individual’s reputation precedes them. We believe that good works bring respect and nobility. For no one can reap where they have not sown.”
Although Vice President, John Nkomo, paid his respects to the Mabhena family, Zanu (PF)’s tired demagoguery revealed itself. VP Nkomo spoke about the emotive land issue, which had nothing to do with the mourning. He told mourners that God had given them dominion over land and other natural resources. VP Nkomo made no reference whatsoever to the torture of the late Welshman while in detention.