University of Zimbabwe students win reprieve after protesting for lecturers’ rights

HARARE – The University of Zimbabwe (UZ) has lifted the suspensions of six students who were disciplined for demonstrating in solidarity with striking lecturers with the institution stating that it “reconsidered its position” but issued a warning against future behavior deemed to threaten the institution’s “reputation and integrity.”

The six students, identified as Narshon Kohlo, Blessing Mtisi, Nodesha Maingehama, Tafadzwa Katsande, Tawana Hove, and Tariro Mtukura, are members of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), UZ Chapter.

They were initially suspended in May 2025 after organising a protest on campus demanding a resolution to an industrial action by lecturers that commenced on April 16.

In individual letters dated July 9, 2025, University Registrar Munyaradzi Madambi confirmed the lifting of the suspensions and the withdrawal of disciplinary matters.

The letters expressed the university’s hope that the students had “atoned” for their behaviour and anticipated they would “desist from engaging in behaviour that may put the University into disrepute.”

The letters also instructed the Manager of Examinations and Certification to reactivate the students’ E-mhare accounts and release their results, and advised other departments to facilitate their return to studies.

“Please be advised that the University has reconsidered its position and decided to lift your suspension from the University of Zimbabwe and also withdraw the Student Disciplinary matter which had previously been levelled against you.

“It is sincerely hoped that you have atoned for your behaviour, which seriously threatens the integrity and reputation of the University. We anticipate that you desist from engaging in behaviour that may put the University into disrepute,” Madambi stated.

Opposition politician Gift Ostallos Siziba described them as a “glaring manifestation of administrative injustice,” alleging the university was acting as an extension of Zanu-PF’s authoritarianism.

Trade union leader Obert Masaraure criticised the government’s use of “repressive ordinances” to silence dissent.

Pride Mkono, a former ZINASU president who was also previously suspended from UZ in 2011 and expelled in 2012 for similar activism, voiced concerns that the university’s actions reflect a recurring trend of suppressing student activism in Zimbabwe.

In a “think piece,” Mkono highlighted Ordinance 30 of 1985 and Section 8 of the University of Zimbabwe Act as regulatory tools with “vague language and authoritarian scope” that are used to suppress dissent.

Mkono argued that these provisions often contradict the 2013 Constitution of Zimbabwe, specifically Sections 58 (freedom of association), 59 (freedom to demonstrate and petition), 60 (freedom of conscience), 69 (right to a fair hearing), and 70 (rights of accused persons).

He cited Section 2(1) of the Constitution, which states that any law inconsistent with the Constitution is invalid. Mkono detailed how Ordinance 30, Rule 3.1.3, which prohibits “disrupting” administrative work, could criminalize peaceful protests.

He also pointed to Section 8(3)(d) of the Act, empowering the Vice-Chancellor to ban students indefinitely for “disorderly conduct” without a test of necessity or proportionality.

Mkono, further, criticised Section 8(3)(f) of the Act for allowing the Vice-Chancellor to dissolve student unions without judicial oversight, and Ordinance 30, Rule 3.3.1, for holding students collectively responsible for group actions unless they publicly dissociate.

He also noted that Ordinance 30, Rule 4.2.3, permits disciplinary proceedings in absentia, which he argued violates the right to a fair hearing. Mkono highlighted Ordinance 30, Rule 3.1.4, which penalises conduct “harmful to the University’s interests,” as impermissibly vague.

Mkono also stated that Ordinance 30, formulated in 1985, reflects a colonial administrative culture and called for its reform and alignment with the 2013 Constitution to uphold democratic values and academic freedom.

He urged parliamentarians who are UZ alumni, current students, and civil society to challenge these laws through legislative amendments and judicial review.