police station, notwithstanding the danger in which you are placed.”] What makes things worse is the fact that some of these people were perpetrators of heinous crimes during the elections and during the Gukurahundi atrocities, making it difficult to pursue their prosecution under the current circumstances. iv. Judiciary • The justice system is not capable of delivering justice to the people. Most of the officials staffing the courts are steeped in partisan politics to the extent that it is difficult to expect them to be impartial. • If the system is revamped and the bad apples in the system shown their marching orders, then it is possible to restore the independence and efficiency of the judiciary [one participant]. v. Reparations • “There is nothing that will bring back my family and as such nothing meaningful can be done by the government to compensate me, except for government assisting in schooling my siblings” [one female participant, who stated that her parents were shot by state agents]. • Reparations must be paid to those that are victims of political violence. Those that lost limbs must be given money to assist them to carry out the basic tasks that they are not able to do anymore. vi. Rehabilitation of victims • Women were raped by the perpetrators and were left with unwanted children who are a painful reminder of that particular period. For them, rehabilitation will not make a difference, as it does not make the children sired by these perpetrators go away [women’s group]. • “Ihloka lingakhohlwa ukuthi ligamule ugodo, kodwa ugodo kalusoze lukhohlwe.” [“The perpetrator may forget that he did harm to the victim but the victim won’t forget.”] It is easier to pay back someone whose wheelbarrow was taken by someone; but how can one pay back someone who was raped or had his limbs cut off or his parents killed? [one participant]. vii. Reconciliation • If a bone gets stuck in your throat, you need to open your mouth to have it removed [one participant]. • Solutions to reconciliation must not be forced down people’s throats as one may get bitten in the process of doing so. 7. OBSERVATIONS • The participant turnout in Lupane was overwhelming. There were 132 participants at a meeting where 50 were expected. Facilitators were convinced that the reason for this turnout was the subject of discussion, which has not been made a subject of public discussion in the past. 102 Taking Transitional Justice to the People – Outreach Report