Police arrest University of Zimbabwe lecturers on strike for fair pay

Three University of Zimbabwe lecturers were arrested on Wednesday as they led the first day of an indefinite strike over poverty-level salaries.

Borncase Mwakorera, Obvious Vengeyi, and Desmond Ndedzu – members of the Association of University Teachers – were detained at Avondale Police Station during what their union insists was a legal protest.

“This was a lawful picket. We followed the Labour Act to the letter,” said lawyer Munyaradzi Gwisai, who is also a lecturer at UZ. “Their arrest is nothing short of harassment.”

Lecturers say their pay has collapsed – from US$2,250 in 2018 to under US$230 today. With the cost of living soaring, they argue that teaching has become an act of survival.

The arrests have only deepened anger among university staff, as their fight for dignity enters uncertain terrain.