To me, as a journalist based in Bulawayo from 1980 to 1988, I state that he was the principal figure, in the government's political and secuity polices in Matabeleland, in his various capacities notably when he was in Home Affairs and Defence.

I can successfully claim to be one of the three or four journalists who covered Matabeleland extensively -- immediately after independence, through the Matabeleland disturbances right to the signing of the 1987 Unity Agreement.

I covered the political rallies Nkala addressed in Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and South. I made video and audio recordings of his statements. I swear on my honour that Nkala was central to government action, particularly in the area of security.

I was at the first out-break of political violence in Bulawayo in 1980 which erupted during a meeting he was addressing at White City Stadium, and overnight it developed into the first Entumbane clash between ZIPRA and ZANLA forces who were housed there, waiting for demobilisation or integration in the Zimbabwe National Army.

I can say that Nkala's choice of this venue for a Zanu PF rally was a deliberate act of provocation, because he knew, that Joshua Nkomo's house in Pelandaba was just a stone-throw away.

The more suitable venue could have been Barbourfields, bacause of its accessibility. He was obviously trying to prove a point by holding the rally at White City, and used what I call reckless language and issued threats against "enemies" -- a euphemism for PF-ZAPU.

I once got into trouble with some politician when I edited out Nkala's utterances at a political rally which I deemed provocative, as it made reference to ethnicity (which seems to be he only way he sees politics).

I then gave Nkala an opportunity to repeat, on a camera, what he had said earlier at the rally, in the privacy of his home. Like the cunning person he was, he declined.

Nkala did not know the thinking of people in Matabeland because, he had not lived in Bulawayo or any part of the region for a long while. It was not enough to claim expertise on the region because of his Ndebele ethnicity.

Nkala should not be allowed to get away with deception. He owes it to the people of Matabeland, and the country as a whole to explain his logic behind the the measures that government took in the region, between 1982 and 1986.

I charge that Nkala did not have a personal constituency to represent. He was desperate to deliver Matabeland to Zanu PF, even using force.

The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP), which collected data on those killed during the Matabeleland genocide quotes Nkala, as late as 1985 telling a rally: "We want to wipe out the ZAPU leadership. The murderous organisation and its murderous leadership must be hit so hard it doesn't feel obliged to do the things it has been doing."

And this is the guy who claims to have a higher moral stand than Robert Mugabe?