Student Leaders Arrested at University of Education, Winneba
Ten student leaders at the University of Education, Winneba (UEW) were arrested following protests against the university administration’s decision to increase academic fees by 30% and implement new restrictions on student organizations. The demonstration, which had been peaceful and had followed proper notification procedures, was violently dispersed by Ghana Police Service officers. Emmanuel Kwesi Mintah, […]
Targeting of Tigrayan Academics
Following the outbreak of conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region in November 2020, academics of Tigrayan ethnicity faced widespread and systematic persecution. At Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia’s flagship higher education institution, dozens of Tigrayan professors reported ethnic profiling, surveillance, and intimidation. By December 2020, at least 20 Tigrayan academics had been placed on indefinite administrative leave […]
Arrest of Student Activists at University of Zimbabwe
On June 24, 2022, Zimbabwe Republic Police arrested more than a dozen student leaders at the University of Zimbabwe during a peaceful demonstration against a 1000% tuition fee increase announced by the university administration. The protest had been organized by the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) after attempts to engage university authorities in dialogue failed. […]
Imprisonment of Dr. Stella Nyanzi
Dr. Stella Nyanzi, a medical anthropologist, feminist scholar, and researcher at the Makerere University Institute of Social Research, was arrested after publishing a poem on Facebook critical of President Yoweri Museveni and his mother. The poem used explicit sexual metaphors and vulgar language, which is characteristic of “radical rudeness,” a traditional Ugandan form of protest […]