A critical analysis of the prospects of transitional justice in post-Mugabe era

Abstract

Zimbabwe is a country that has been under authoritarian regime for almost 4 decades. These are the decades in which the former and late President Robert Gabriel Mugabe was leading the government. At more than one time, his government adopted violent tactics to consolidate their leadership positions. Historically, the former resulted in killings (approximately 20 000) people of the Midlands and those in the Matabeleland. This did not end there, as Mugabe’s regime continued to engineer violence during elections to remain in power especially in the period of the post-2000. All these events have given rise to the calls of transitional justice in Zimbabwe. There is a challenge in establishing transitional justice in non-liberal context. This study explored the prospects of transitional justice in Zimbabwe in the post Mugabe’s authoritarian regime change. The study reveals that there is no closure for the wounds suffered in the past. The victims of violence during Gukurahundi have not been properly buried or revealed yet the perpetrators have enjoyed a blanket of amnesty as the government employed the transitional justice mechanism that favour the perpetrators. Another revelation remains that, under the current regime, only traditional mechanisms are effective although done at a small scale of community level. A multi stakeholder transitional justice process that include major actors such as traditional leaders and civil societies has been recommended in the study.