The Herald, seen as the official mouthpiece of an unpopular government, has been attacked by media watchers and opposition parties over its bias.

And on Sunday, its security appeared to have been breached when all news headlines on the site were replaced with the word “Gukurahundi” - the term used to refer to a 1980s clampdown by government troops in the Matabeleland region which rights groups say left as many as 20,000 people killed.

Since Zimbabweans voted on 29 March, handing control of the country's House of Assembly to the opposition, and almost securing opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai outright victory against President Robert Mugabe, dozens of opposition activists have been reportedly killed in post-election violence.

Opposition groups have openly called the killings Mugabe's “new Gukurahundi”.

Gukurahundi is a Shona word used to refer to the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains.

Read the full article here.

[14 May 2008 12:07]

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