Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, ARTUZ Deputy Commander of the Red Committee, Cde Godfrey Chanda was tracked by three suspected State Agents after attending court in Harare.
Cde Chanda who is one of the accused in a petty case of Criminal nuisance being heard at Harare rotten row courts was followed from Harare to Mapiravana ward 1 in Chiruhanzu at Gara shopping center.
Cde Chanda informed us that, ” Yesterday upon arrival at Gara shopping centre three men who I had once seen in Mvuma arrived. Non of the people in the community know them. One of the three approached me and said they wanted to talk to me in private, I refused, the team of three then tried to drag me out of the shop. I resisted and ran and hid behind the counter, the bar lady phoned members of the community. Some community members accompanied me for 2 kilometers to my home and spent the whole night with me. I am on my way to report to the police.”
ARTUZ salutes the Mapiravana community for defending their teacher. These are the fruits of building an alliance between teachers and parents.
We urge the police to investigate this case and bring the perpetrators to book.
We condemn these barbaric acts designed to instill fear among our Cdes. Cde Chanda is just a teacher fighting for the right to education for our learners. These acts by the state are a violation of our constitution.
We maintain that we are a bona fide Trade Union whose interests are confined to defending labour justice for our members and inclusive access to quality education for our learners. Our planned Teacher- parents interfaces have nothing to do with politics. They just seek to ensure that quality education is delivered to our learners under acceptable conditions.
Source: Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ)
