Student beaten after arrest of 11 on UZ campus

By Alex Bell
04 February 2010

The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) is demanding the arrest of a security guard from the University of Zimbabwe, after a student leader was ‘severely’ beaten in a crackdown by police and security guards on a public students meeting.

Police arrested eleven students on Wednesday, including four ZINASU officials who were holding a meeting to address students’ grievances regarding tuition fees and accommodation problems. The ZINASU Secretary General, Grant Tabvurei was beaten after campus security guards and police surrounded the union’s meeting with the students and started making arrests. ZINASU President Joshua Chinyere as well as Treasurer Zivanai Muzorodzi and Education Secretary Artwell Chidya were all detained. All the students were charged with trying to incite violence on campus but were eventually released on Wednesday evening.

A statement from the students union read: “He (Tabvurei) sustained a swollen foot and received medical attention at a local hospital. ZINASU has already reported the assault at Harare Central Police Station and investigations have started. ZINASU demands that the responsible security guard be brought to book for unlawfully assaulting students.”

Meanwhile, a rival ZINASU faction has elected a new leadership led by
President Tafadzwa Mugwadi of the University of Zimbabwe and Secretary
General Kurai Hove. The Mugwadi-led ZINASU faction opposes the
parliamentary-led constitutional revision process, while the Chinyere faction supports it.

As tensions on campus continue to rise, lecturers and teachers are set to join other civil servants for a rally on Friday in Harare over the ongoing fight to force the government to meet their wage demands. A civil service strike is looming after a meeting between government representatives and union leaders to negotiate improved wages broke down on Tuesday. The government insists it has no money to meet any increase in the wage bill and has instead promised an improvement in April when funding is expected to increase. Unions are preparing to meet with their members on Friday in the capital and next Monday in Bulawayo to discuss their options.

Unions have argued that their meagre salaries are unrealistic and do not even cover basic bill payments, never mind any other amenities or necessities. The Consumer Council of Zimbabwe has this week reported that food prices have risen by more than ten percent in the last month. The Consumer Council has blamed the price increases on widespread speculation that civil servants would finally receive a salary boost. But that wage increase has not happened and there are widespread fears that food is once again becoming unaffordable for many.