Methodology
The NTJWG convened a meeting with survivors based in Tsholotsho, Ward 15 on 27 September, 2019
bringing together 31 participants. 11 were male and 20 were female. 3 men were from the NTJWG
Secretariat. This shifted our focus from the traditional survivors which the NTJWG has been working
with in the past to engaging communities which have been doing TJ work in their communities who
will be engaged for further initiatives in the future. The NTJWG seeks to activate survivors at Wardlevel and make the entire TJ process in Zimbabwe victim-centred.
Engaging survivors at this juncture is important because the NPRC has also commenced consultative
meetings, basis truth-telling and truth-seeking initiatives and it is important to disseminate the
mandate of the NPRC so that survivors can effectively engage official TJ process in Zimbabwe.
Survivors can even go further and present their challenges to PPCs. It is important to ensure that
survivors are equipped with the necessary skills to engage the NPRC processes when they visit their
areas.
NPRC processes should be victim-centric, thus survivors should be equipped with the right information
and knowledge when approaching the Commission. The community dialogue created a platform for
survivors to share their experiences and what they think about the official TJ processes in Zimbabwe.
The dialogue allowed survivors to identify gaps, challenges, successes and recommendations for the
Commission. Issues raised by survivors will also be utilized by the NTJWG to compile a holistic report
for advocacy purposes.
Figure 1: Participants singing at the start of the community dialogue in Tsholotsho.
Expectations from the dialogue
Mr.Wellington Nkau, representative of survivors in the NTJWG and one of the trainees, opened the
session by probing expectations from participants. He started by unpacking the Constitutional process
which set the pace for the development of a framework for the NPRC. This process paved way for
discussions on Gukurahundi, political, violence, operation Murambatsvina, among others.
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