University of Zimbabwe student president arrested

By Violet Gonda
22 May 2006

It’s reported that Tineyi Mukwewa, the president of the UZ Student Representative Council (SRC) was arrested Monday morning by police from the Harare CID law and order section

An emailed report that came late Monday from another student leader Washington Katema says Tineyi was picked at the campus in connection with the demonstrations that rocked Bindura University of Science Education (BUSE) two weeks ago.

The protests were against the unaffordable new fees structure introduced by the government in February. Scores of students were arrested and some allegedly tortured while they were in police custody.

Katema said this latest arrest follows an article that appeared in the state controlled Herald saying the Mashonaland Central provincial spokesperson Inspector Michael Munyikwa had deployed a team to look for Mukwewa and also Givemore Chari the SRC president at BUSE and Promise Mkwananzi the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) President.

Katema said, “ZINASU condemns the wanton, brutal and barbarously vicious violation of our academic freedoms by the 'government' of today. The vision for 'education for all' has transmogrified into a melodramatic nightmare. Education is not for sale.”