the Trinity Centre at Wits University on Saturday with speakers hailing Zimbabwean students for their courage to fight suppression at various learning institutions in the country.
The solidarity celebrations come at a time when police are hunting the ZINASU President, Mkhwananzi, for allegedly instigating fellow students to rebel against the government and supporting the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).
Luke Zunga the treasurer for the Zimbabwe Diaspora Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) Forum said: ”We are here to celebrate Zinasu and the courage of the students and their leadership. It is a long history. When the Pearce Commissioners visited schools to sell the idea of Smith internal settlement in early 1970’s we told them NO!”
He said students played a crucial role during the struggle and were always at the frontline of the liberation war.
” After independence it is the students who first noticed and challenged the dictatorship of Robert Mugabe, where he revoked the university freedom charter,” said Zunga. – CAJ News
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs deputy director, Mpumi Majola, has confirmed the intended move by the department to open four new refugee reception centres that will help cater for refugees.
“Very soon we will be opening these departments in North West, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Northern Cape but we are still looking for places were we can locate them,” said Majola.
He added that the department was also busy setting up a strong IT system as the previous system had caused huge disruptions,
“We have already recruited the interns who will help with attending asylum seekers and candidates with required legal expertise have been selected and our IT system is also being attended and this will help in catering for huge numbers requiring our services,” said Majola.
Alan Grobbler from the City of Johannesburg said South Africans should treat foreign nationals with respect as they were equal human beings.
“We have to accord dignity which refugees deserve, not forgetting that at one point we were asylum seekers and refugees in other countries,” he said.
“This is a positive move as a huge number of people seeking asylum have been sleeping in the open at places such as Marabastad Refugee Reception Area for weeks without being attended to,” said Peter Muzanenhamo from the Zimbabwe Refugees Association. – Trust Matsilele