Three University of Zimbabwe lecturers were arrested on Wednesday after taking part in a strike over what they call insultingly low salaries.
The lecturers, all members of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), downed tools on 16 April 2025, declaring an indefinite strike. They are demanding better pay, especially for junior academics who reportedly earn just US$250 plus a small amount in the new ZiG currency.
The arrested lecturers were taken to Avondale Police Station and are being represented by lawyer and former MP Munyaradzi Gwisai, who also lectures at UZ. Gwisai confirmed the arrests and insisted that the strike was perfectly legal. He said the AUT had notified the police of their plans to protest in a formal letter dated 14 April.
In a statement, Gwisai didn’t hold back. He described the salaries as a “recipe for destruction” and warned that the University of Zimbabwe, once a proud institution, was slowly dying. He added that AUT had followed every legal requirement for a lawful strike and said the university’s response had been “crude and intimidatory.”
“This is about dignity,” Gwisai said. “For our families, for our students, and for the nation.”
Instead of engaging with the lecturers, the university management escalated matters by suspending six AUT leaders for “insubordination.”
The University of Zimbabwe, the country’s oldest tertiary institution, has more than 2,700 staff and over 11,500 students. It has been facing criticism for declining academic standards—something many blame on poor salaries, low morale, and a steady brain drain of talented educators.
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