On May 12, 2025, 6 students from the University of Zimbabwe (UZ)—Narshon Kohlo (UZ ZINASU chairperson), Tafadzwe Katsande, Blessing Mtisi, Tawananyashe Hove, Nodesha Maingehama, and Tariro Mtukura—were arrested following a protest on campus. The demonstration was organized in response to the university administration’s failure to resolve a month-long lecturers’ strike. Faculty had ceased teaching in demand for increased salaries of US$2,250 and improved working conditions. Students reported paying full tuition without receiving lectures or the opportunity to write exams. University security quickly disrupted the protest, and the students were taken into police custody.
Subsequently, the university administration began hiring adjunct lecturers on short-term, three-month contracts, offering pay as low as US$3 per hour—partially in Zimbabwe’s unstable local currency (ZIG). These temporary instructors were assigned full teaching duties, including lesson preparation and exam grading. Faculty and union leaders condemned the hiring move as an exploitative response designed to weaken collective bargaining power and suppress the ongoing strike.
Response
ACAF is of the view that the arrest of students for peaceful protest infringes on their rights to free expression and assembly; cornerstones of academic freedom. These actions deter student activism and weaken democratic engagement within the university. Simultaneously, the university’s decision to hire underpaid adjuncts in response to the lecturers’ strike undermines academic labour rights and discourages collective action by faculty. These measures reflect a broader attempt to suppress dissent, marginalize institutional stakeholders, and prioritize administrative convenience over academic quality and shared governance. The result is a diminished space for inquiry, debate, and the meaningful pursuit of higher education. Consequently, ACAF prays university management to
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