Series of student arrests ‘points to erosion of progressive rights’

More than 30 Zimbabwean students protesting under the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter banner calling for freedom of expression, an end to corruption and better living conditions, have thus far been arrested and charged by the state for inciting violence, according to the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU).

In an interview with University World News in early August, President of ZINASU Takudzwa Ngadziore confirmed that many students were “facing unjustified arrests for claiming their space in the freedom arena. Shockingly, holding a placard in Zimbabwe which speaks to the rotten life we wake up to makes you a terrorist in the eyes of the state”.

He said the grievances that had caused students to protest went beyond the recent abductions and incarceration of journalists, students and activists, and included the widespread dropout of students from universities and deferment of studies by those who could no longer afford to pay fees.

Students were finding it difficult to find affordable accommodation, there were poor food services at universities, and there was rampant abuse of female students at different tertiary institutions, he said.

“The struggles within the national discourse negatively impact on the students’ way of life… we want to see people being given the right to express themselves. The state should be accountable to the electorate (students included),” Ngadziore said.

According to the United Nations, millions of Zimbabweans are facing food insecurity and the COVID-19 pandemic had “aggravated an already severe hunger crisis in Zimbabwe”.

In a press briefing on Zimbabwe in late July, UN Human Rights spokesperson Liz Throssell urged Zimbabwean authorities against using the COVID-19 pandemic as an excuse to stifle fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression and the right to peaceful assembly.

This followed reports of unrest in the country, with police using excessive force on health workers who were protesting for better salaries and working conditions, and journalists, students and activists who were speaking against corruption and deteriorating economic conditions.

Freedom of expression and assembly

A number of arrests of students around the country has raised concerns about the possible curtailment of students’ freedom of expression and the right to participate in political activity.

On 29 June eight Chinhoyi University of Technology students, including Talent Madava, vice-president of ZINASU, were charged with disturbing public peace and inciting violence after they posted photos on Facebook of themselves protesting three days earlier in support of three female activists who had allegedly been abducted, tortured and hospitalised.

In an interview with University World News via WhatsApp, Madava, who is in her final year, said they were forced to spend a night behind bars a week before final exams. She expressed her shock at having been arrested for merely holding up a placard in support of former student leaders – MP Joanah Mamombe, Netsai Marova and Cecilia Chinembiri – who are facing charges for protesting in May against the state’s lockdown rules and who have been accused by the state of faking their own abductions.

“We are afraid for our lives, and we are scared to participate in any political activities … because students are not free, students are threatened and students are at risk … It is difficult for us to express ourselves and academic freedom is at risk in this current political environment,” Madava said.

According to Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), a student based at the National University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo, MDC Alliance Students Council Secretary General Hither Rujeko Mpambwa, was arrested and brought before a court in Kariba where she lives for allegedly insulting the country’s president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, in a WhatsApp group message following his televised address to the nation on 4 August.

She was granted ZW$5,000 bail (approximately US$60), according to ZLHR who have been representing students across the country.

On 31 July, at least 13 students from the Great Zimbabwe University participated in a peaceful demonstration calling for an improved healthcare system, an end to corruption and freedom of expression. Ordia Ndalenga, a second-year student, told University World News via WhatsApp that she and her peers were later charged for participating in an unlawful gathering and inciting violence and were released on ZW$5,000 bail.

“Before being a student, I am also a citizen of Zimbabwe and we are struggling to cope with the economic hardships, university fee hikes, poor health services and the government has to grant us freedom of expression. In fact, the Constitution has to be practical,” Ndalenga said.

On 30 July Tawanda Muchehiwa, a journalism student at Midlands State University, was abducted at gunpoint, allegedly by state agents. He was tortured and dumped near his homestead three days later.

In an article on Zimlive.com, Muchehiwa said he was accused by his abductees of trying to overthrow the president. Images of the badly battered 22-year-old being wheeled to the High Court where he had been ordered to present himself have sparked outrage on social media. Despite CCTV footage showing the moments of Muchehiwa’s abduction, the state has denied any involvement in the abduction and assault.

Regional support

With the #ZimbabweanLivesMatter campaign gaining international traction, student unions across the region have pledged their support to Zimbabwean learners facing unlawful arrests.

The South African Union of Students (SAUS) published a letter on 4 August in solidarity with Zimbabwean students, stating that it “cannot remain silent in the face of these deliberate atrocities which undermine Zimbabwe’s appeal to democracy and further place the lives of students and citizens in complete oblivion”.

The Oxford University Africa Society, an umbrella body for Africans at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, called for the “humane and dignified treatment of our fellows” in a statement published on their Twitter handle in support of Zimbabwean students.

New code of conduct

Meanwhile, the government of Zimbabwe, through its Ministry of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, issued a statement on 6 August denouncing the allegations of human rights abuses in the country as an “organized smear campaign” designed to “destabilise” the country.

According to the statement, the law was being applied in line with COVID-19 lockdown measures that were meant to “safeguard and protect the lives of all citizens”.

This came two days after an announcement during a cabinet meeting that the government would be enacting a new “code of conduct” making it a criminal offence for any Zimbabwean citizen to campaign or speak against the country. The same document said historians would be “resourced to document inclusive storylines that reframe and capture agreeable narratives about Zimbabwe’s history”.

According to UK-based academic and lecturer, Dr Alex Magaisa, the prospective regulation is not only “retrogressive and unjust”, but its timing shows its intent to clamp down on free speech and silence young people from speaking out, especially through electronic media.

Erosion of student rights

“The problem in Zimbabwe is that there is a conflation between the state and the ruling party … there has been an erosion of progressive student rights for over 20 years now, and the government continues to introduce laws that make student activism and academic freedom almost impossible,” he said during an interview on WhatsApp with University World News this month.

Magaisa also criticised the call for historians to capture “agreeable narratives”, which he said were meant to “extol the virtues of those in power while ignoring the atrocities they perpetrated”. He argued that the regulation would not only have a devastating effect on academic freedom and freedom of expression but would distort the history of Zimbabwe.