HARARE – Munyaradzi Ronald Hondongwa, a teacher living with disability who was arrested on June 16, 2024, for attending a meeting on the Day of the African Child and detained for almost six months, is now facing a new challenge with the National Building Society (NBS) threatening to seize his assets over an unpaid loan.
According to a letter from NBS’s lawyers, Mavhiringidze and Mashanyare Legal Practitioners, Hondongwa owes US$2,000.75, including capital debt, collection commission, and costs.
The letter gives him three days to settle the outstanding amount or agree on acceptable terms, failing which legal action will be taken.
“Send your proof of payments and your queries by text message or WhatsApp to 0780009057/0780009056 or via email to mmavhiringidze yahoo.com, Should we institute summons to recover the sum aforesaid the legal costs incurred will be on your account and you risk being blacklisted with the Credit Bureau and or your property being attached in execution. We await your prompt payment,” NBS demanded.
Hondongwa had borrowed a salary-based loan from NBS, with his employer, the State, providing surety for the loan. However, while he was in prison, the State allegedly froze his salary and suspended him from employment, making it difficult for him to repay the loan.
The Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has come out in support of Hondongwa, criticising the government for pursuing him over the unpaid loan. The union viewed the case as a “class struggle” and an example of the “anti-worker onslaught” in Zimbabwe.
“This case exposes how the vicious anti worker incumbent dictatorship is working round the clock to punish working people who stand for Human Rights.
“We view this as a class struggle. The ruling elites are conniving with the bosses to create hell on earth for workers.
“Those who are calling for 2030 for the incumbent are enemies of the working people.
“We call upon working people to urgently organize labour forums to coordinate a response strategy to the ongoing persecution of the workers.
“Hondongwa’s case mirrors the ongoing massive retrenchments, slave wages and the general anti worker onslaught.
“Workers must unite and strike back,” ARTUZ stated.
NBS is a state-owned institution, with the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) being its primary shareholder.
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