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Police
launch a hunt on SCMZ National Vice Chairperson and NUST branch Chairperson
Student Christian
Movement of Zimbabwe (SCMZ)
October 10, 2007
The SCMZ National
Vice Chairperson, Langelishe Manyani, and the movement's NUST
branch Chairperson, Cynthia Manjoro are being hunted by the police
following their address of a general meeting at the National
University of Science and Technology (NUST) yesterday in the
morning. The general meeting which was also addressed by other student
leaders was sparked by the transport and accommodation crisis facing
students at the institution of higher learning. The general meeting
was attended by more than 1000 students.
Two student activists, Themba Maphenduka and Vananceo Jachi were
arrested just after the general meeting and are in police custody.
The Zimbabwe Lawyers
for Human Rights (ZLHR) which is representing the students said
it is being denied access to the clients and they are yet to establish
the charges leveled against the activists.
Another student Samson Nxumalo has been a victim of police brutality
and badly needs medical attention.
NUST which has a total enrolment of 3 500 students currently has
a capacity to accommodate 102 students, 34 female students and 50
male students. Students are being charged more than Z$25 million
per semester for space.
The students at NUST are also against the excessive late registration
fees of Z$60 000 a day per day, and some students have accumulated
debts amounting to Z$1 million. The current economic crisis in the
country makes it difficult for parents and guardians of a mainly
peasantry background to afford the tuition fees on time, at the
current average rate of Z$10 000 000. 00 per semester.
The two SCMZ student leaders are living in a safe house in Bulawayo
and vowed they would never surrender themselves to the police. The
police are on record inflicting brutal torture on any student activists
that are brought to their notorious holding cells.
SCMZ reiterates its position that authorities at the institution
and indeed any other institution of higher learning in the country
should address the critical students' needs. The victimization
of a few students will not bring solutions to the bleeding state
of higher education in the country. It is SCMZ's strong belief
that God's love for the downtrodden and demands for justice
for the oppressed do not change.
As such the movement urges all students to continue pilling pressure
on the authorities so that the crisis is resolved with the poor
in mind.
'You have no right to crush my people ...no right to take
advantage of the poor" (Isaiah 3:15).
Visit the SCMZ
fact
sheet
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