BULAWAYO There is chaos at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), as college authorities have expelled student leaders, banned student activism and imposed a curfew.
Student Representative Council (SRC) President Brian Mtisi, along with committee members Mlungisi Dube and Jorum Chikwadze, hase already been expelled from the university for defying that order. Lobie Sifobela, the dean of students, wrote us letters of expulsion without a disciplinary hearing. He accused us of defying an order that students should not have an SRC at the college, Mtisi toldThe Zimbabwean.
Mtisi said a curfew had also been imposed at the college and students were not allowed to be on the campus after 6pm. Most NUST students stay at personal lodgings around the city as the college doesnt offer accommodation. Armed members of youth militias from the Border Gezi training camps are deployed every evening to arrest and beat up any students seen loitering at the college at night, said Chikwadze.
Last month, Mtisi and Chikwadze were arrested and brutally assaulted by officers from Bulawayo Central Polices Law and Order section after leading a group of students to court, where the trial of the universitys principal accountant, Roy Ndlovu, was underway. Ndlovu is charged with defrauding NUST of US$19,000, comprising fees paid in by students.
The students spent three days in custody and were released with broken arms and head injuries.
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