Nelson Chamisa who leads the opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) party has said there can never be true unity in Zimbabwe without true dialogue.
He made the remarks in commemoration of Unity Day celebrated annually on the 22nd of December.
In a Twitter post seen by Pindula News, Chamisa, a former Minister of ICT, Postal and Courier Services said Zimbabweans need each other. He said:
MAKING ZIMBABWE A WINNING NATION..
We will unite all Zimbabweans across politics, race &tribe. Unity wins peace &prosperity for nations. Unity thrives nations. There can never be true unity without true dialogue &love. We need each other. Unity is good for us all &for a thriving economy.
Unity Day is a holiday in Zimbabwe that is celebrated in Zimbabwe on 22 December to mark the anniversary of the Unity Accord, an agreement signed between ZANU and ZAPU in 1987 to officially put an end to Gukurahundi in Matabeleland and Midlands.
Gukurahundi, as it is commonly known, was an operation that was allegedly carried out by Mugabe’s government to track down former ZIPRA combatants who deserted Zimbabwe’s integrated military with weapons in protest over lack of equal treatment with those who waged the war under Mugabe’s ZANLA.
It is estimated that 20 000 civilians died at the hands of the Zimbabwe military during the dark period.
Civic society groups and political parties Thursday criticised the government for failing to acknowledge post-independence atrocities such as Gukurahundi and election-related killings.
Since 2018, Chamisa has been refusing dialogue with president Emmerson Mnangagwa or to join the Political Actors Dialogue (POLAD) forum saying there was no genuine dialogue that would come out of the engagements.
Political analysts have been calling for dialogue saying it could help in the resolution of the economic, humanitarian and political crises in the southern African country.