The Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU) finds itself once again locking horns with university authorities, this time demanding the reinstatement of members suspended from state universities.
The union is accusing three universities, Midlands State University (MSU), Great Zimbabwe University (GZU) and the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) of what it calls a "flagrant violation of both domestic and international human rights law."
The suspended students stand accused of breaching conduct regulations, allegedly brandishing placards on campus and calling for a resolution to the ongoing lecturers' strike.
Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn
In a letter dated 7 July 2025, and served to the students on Tuesday, UZ Vice Chancellor Paul Mapufmo stated that the six had contravened rule 3.1.4 of the Rules of Student Conduct and Discipline, 1984 Ordinance 30, by moving around campus inciting fellow students to join the lecturers' protests.
"It was brought to my attention that on the 12th of May 2025 at around 1210 hours, while in the company of Blessing Mtisi, Nodeshar Maingehama, Tafadzwa Katsande Masimba, Tawananyasha Hove and Mtukura Tariro were found holding unlawful demonstration at the University Halls of Residence.
"You were moving one hall of residence to another, one dining hall to another, addressing fellow students and inciting them to join you to hold placards and chant slogans against the University Administration.
"Accordingly in light of the seriousness of the allegations detailed above, I have found it necessary to, in terms of section 8 (3) (e) of the University of Zimbabwe Act,[ Chapter 25:16], (the act) to suspend you with immediate effect, from your studies at the University of Zimbabwe indefinitely pending disciplinary hearing against you."
In response, ZINASU President Emmanuel Sitima issued three key demands, asserting that Mapfumo's actions reflect a "deliberate and systematic effort to criminalise dissent and suppress the agency of students as political and civic actors."
"Such repressive conduct is not only morally indefensible, but legally unsustainable. The Constitution of Zimbabwe (2013), which stands as the supreme law of the Republic, guarantees the freedom of expression (Section 61), freedom of assembly and association (Section 58), and the right to peaceful demonstration and petition (Section 59)," said Sitima.
Sitima further insisted that the suspended students must be reinstated immediately and without conditions.
"The immediate and unconditional reinstatement of all students unlawfully suspended or expelled. A thorough and independent investigation into the abuse of university disciplinary procedures for political ends. Firm guarantees from the Ministry of Higher and Tertiary Education affirming the protection of student rights in accordance with the Constitution," he declared.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The dispute comes as UZ lecturers have been on strike since April, demanding fair wages. At one point, even President Emmerson Mnangagwa's spokesman, George Charamba, conceded that the US$230 being offered to lecturers at UZ was a concern, pledging that his boss had approved salary increments.
The university has responded to the industrial action by suspending protesting lecturers and replacing them with what students are derisively calling "virgins in the academic setting," ill-equipped to handle the demands of the job.
