Speaking for the Dead: Testimonies, Witnesses and the Representations of Gukurahundi Atrocities in New Media

Abstract

The advent of new media has transformed the processes of remembering past events. Although studies by Mpofu, and Mhlanga and Mpofu discuss the counter-hegemonic role of the Internet in enabling Ndebele communities to recount their traumatic memories of Gukurahundi none of these works have probed how survivor testimonies are reconstructed and disseminated through new media. Given the rapid developments in media technologies, and the suppression of Gukurahundi memories by the Zimbabwean government, it is important to explore how the survivors of this genocide are employing new media to publicly recall and share their experiences. Using the concept of 'media witnessing' as an analytical lens and critical discourse analysis as a method of analysis, this article examines how written and audio-visual survivor testimonies of those who lived through the Gukurahundi massacres are reproduced, mediated and circulated on Bulawayo24.com news website and YouTube.