Zimbabwe Students Released After Intervention by Government in Their Favor
Seeking to defuse the situation, the Ministry of Higher Education sent its director of student affairs to Bindura following the arrests
Attorney Tawanda Zhuwarara, representing the students, said police brought them before the Bindura magistrate's court on charges that they took part in a gathering which was likely to create a public disturbance Twenty-seven students of the Bindura University of Science Education arrested Thursday for allegedly taking part in protests over the university’s decision to prevent those who had not paid tuition fees from taking examinations were released Friday on their personal recognizance by a local magistrate. Attorney Tawanda Zhuwarara, representing the students, said police brought them before the Bindura magistrate's court on charges that they took part in a gathering which was likely to create a public disturbance. Zhuwarara, a member of the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, told VOA Studio 7 reporter Gibbs Dube that most of the arrested students were not involved in the protests but had been picked up by police all the same. He said one of the students was seriously injured in the protest and was later admitted to Bindura Provincial Hospital. Zimbabwe National Students Union President Joshua Chinyere and Secretary General Grant Tabvurei were among the 27 detained by police after protests of a university move to bar students who have not paid tuition fees from completing their semester-end and final examinations. The student leaders allegedly staged protests after failing to reach an agreement with university authorities to allow all students to take their exams. ZINASU National Coordinator Mfundo Mlilo said his organization appealed for government intervention which seemed to have played an important role in the university's decision not to oppose their release without cash bail. The Ministry of Higher Education sent its director of students affairs, Eureka Ndlovu, to Bindura University late this week to stabilize the situation after police launched a crackdown on the protesting students. ZINASU said 40 percent of the 2,000 students at the university stood to miss taking their examinations for failure to pay fees of US$400 to US$850.