Zinasu undeterred by persecution

Persecution of rights defenders, civil society and student leaders has intensified with President Emmerson Mnangagwa failing to honor promises of a new dispensation characterized by respect for fundamental human rights.

In November 2017, after taking power following a military coup, Mnangagwa assured Zimbabweans of a new dispensation but events obtaining on the ground clearly prove his government has failed to honor the pledge.

Members and leaders of the Zimbabwe National Students Union have been among the major victims of rights violations by the Mnangagwa administration.

ZINASU President, Takudzwa Ngadziore is a victim of torture and abduction at the hands of state security agents and has had to endure several days in detention on trumped up charges.

ZINASU Secretary General, Tapiwanashe Chiriga said in an interview that despite the clampdown from the State, they remain unfazed in the fight for student’s rights.

“The targeted harassment and persecution of student leaders and activists in Zimbabwe has increased under the not so new dispensation especially since 2020. More than 40 student activists have been arrested, detained or harassed since March 2020

Belonging to the ONLY Students Union in Zimbabwe is not and cannot be a crime. ZINASU is not fazed by this tyrannical behaviour by the Zanu PF government and the state organs for we know that a cornered oppressor will always resort to increased repression and that can only attract increased resistance. We are strengthened and become bolder each day,” said Chiriga.

Quite often, the state has unleashed state security agents on student leaders protesting against the rot at the country’s tertiary institutions as well as unaffordable fees at the institutions of higher learning.