On the Gukurahundi Amnesty: What Factors Make an Amnesty Effective?

Description

Page: 14-20

Likhwa Ncube (Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Humanities, University of Johannesburg, South Africa)

The paper delves into a pertinent and underexplored subject: the granted amnesties related to the Gukurahundi massacres within the framework of the Unity Accord in Zimbabwe and their effectiveness in promoting peace. It offers a valuable overview of conflict resolution and peace studies literature on Gukurahundi and the utilization of amnesties in peace processes. Utilizing findings from Geoff Dancy’s extensive study, which employed bargaining theory to identify factors influencing the effectiveness of amnesties as an analytic model, the paper critically analyses the three factors validated in Dancy’s study against the Gukurahundi amnesties. This analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of the challenges hindering significant progress in the peace project following the Gukurahundi atrocities. The results presented in this paper provide further evidence for the ongoing and significant peace versus justice debate regarding amnesty usage. Equally important, it initiates a necessary dialogue surrounding the underexamined topic of the Gukurahundi amnesties.