Abstract
Since the end of genocide in 1987 Zimbabwe has remained a zone of ‘conflicts’, and the
enduring debates surrounding this genocide, especially in public-owned but state-controlled
media, call for critical attention. Three years after independence, in 1980, Zimbabwe was
plunged into a genocide named ‘Gukurahundi’ (meaning the rain that washes the chaff away
after harvest) that lasted until 1987. This article argues that there has been a clash of
‘interests’ playing out in the mediation of this yet-to-be-officially addressed genocide.
Through evidence from public-owned media, the media that carry the official voice of the
ruling party, I argue that public media have seen genocide from conflicting and complex
angles, making it difficult to reach a consensus suitable for national building based on
genocide truths, meanings and effects to Zimbabweans. I specifically use the Unity Accordassociated
holiday, the Unity Day, and its associated debates to pursue two arguments. First,
public media have played an ambiguous role in appreciating the conflictual and multipronged
nature of the genocide within ZANU-PF. Second, public media have largely been
supportive of, and even complicit in, official silences on genocide debates and memory. The
article uses public sphere and narrative analysis as frameworks for understanding the
operations of public media journalism in the mediation of genocide nearly 30 years after its
occurrence.