The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) reports that an unknown number of university students were beaten and arrested after police broke up a demonstration in commemoration of The Day of the African child, Friday.

The protest organised by ZINASU was against unaffordable fee increases.

ZINASU President Promise Mkwananzi said in a statement; “The march was intended to end at the Parliament but the police descended on the students who were granted clearance to march, beat them, dispersed some and arrested others.”

It was not clear how many people took part in the demonstration and how many were arrested but Mkwananzi said most the demonstrators are detained at Harare Central Police Station.

He said the police also confiscated the activists’ banner believed to be worth more than a hundred million dollars.

The student leader said a similar demonstration held on Wednesday in Bulawayo was violently broken up by the police. He said, “Police confiscated another banner worth more than hundred million to make them two in less than a week and arrested several students who were beaten and later released without a charge.”

Mkwananzi said, “The systematic arrests of students, torture, brutality and confiscation of students property is an attempt by the police to weaken and cripple the student’s movement ahead of our planned national demonstrations and boycotts.”

The students urged Stan Mudenge, the Minister of Tertiary Education, to resign saying he had failed to run the education ministry.

The ZINASU president said; “Demonstrations will continue countrywide until the satanic fees are reversed. Let me emphasize that if government does not soon reverse from this barbaric fees structure we will soon call upon all of them to resign.”