A vehicle for peacebuilding or cloak of impunity? The Zimbabwe National Peace and Reconciliation Commission

Abstract

This article interrogates the efficacy of truth commissions as mechanisms for peacebuilding and reconciliation in Africa, with reference to Zimbabwe’s National Peace and Reconciliation Commission (NPRC). It questions the credibility and effectiveness of this institution in an attempt to establish whether the NPRC is a vehicle for peacebuilding or just a veil covering state impunity. Through a review of literature, the article explores the efficacy of the NPRC in comparison with the truth commissions established in Rwanda and South Africa. The article establishes that some of the challenges faced by the NPRC include a limited tenure, suppression of truth, limited institutional independence and resources, lack of political will, as well as usurpation of functions by the executive. Lessons identified from South Africa and Rwanda include adoption of diverse peacebuilding initiatives such as combining restorative justice with reparation, and provision of psychosocial care so as to achieve holistic reconciliation. In order to strengthen the capacity of the NPRC to usher in sustainable peace in Zimbabwe and enhance its credibility, the authors recommend extension of the tenure of the NPRC, truth-telling, cessation of state control and interference with operations of the NPRC, and adequate resourcing it.