By ZLHR
Harare – A Zimbabwe court has ordered police to refund some admission of guilt fines, which had been paid by three University of Zimbabwe lecturers, who were arrested last month and charged with disorderly conduct in a public place for allegedly protesting against payment of poor salaries and working conditions.
The three UZ lecturers namely Professor Obvious Vengeyi, Boncase Mwakorera and Desmond Ndedzu, who are also leaders of the Association of University Teachers (AUT), U.Z, on 17 April 2025 paid an admission of guilt fines, after they were arrested by Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) officers on 16 April 2025, who charged them with disorderly conduct as defined in section 41 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and detained overnight at Harare Central Police Station.
Upon arrest, ZRP officers accused Professor Vengeyi, Mwakorera and Ndedzu of breaching the country’s laws when they allegedly picketed together with other UZ lecturers on 16 April 2025, protesting against and demanding an improvement in their remuneration and working conditions.
Professor Vengeyi, Mwakorera and Ndedzu, who were represented by Kelvin Kabaya, Emmanuel Lawrence Chibwe and Tinashe Chinopfukutwa of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, resorted to paying admission of guilt fines amounting to US$15 each, to secure their release and to avert the rigours of pre-trial detention over lawful conduct during the Easter holidays.
On 22 April 2025, the trio’s lawyers challenged the confirmation of the admission of guilt fines paid by Professor Vengeyi, Mwakorera and Ndedzu, by writing a letter to the Provincial Magistrate at Harare Magistrates Court as provided for in terms of section 356 of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act, on the grounds that the trade unionists’ actions, were protected by the Labour Act and that they only paid the fines to secure their liberty.
In their letter, the human rights lawyers argued that they were protecting the trio’s right to collective job action as provided for in section 65 of the Constitution.
Kabaya, Chibwe and Chinopfukutwa, argued that they would be available to defend the trade unionists should any criminal charges be preferred against them.
Now, Harare Resident Magistrate Sheunesu Matova has set aside the conviction of Professor Vengeyi, Mwakorera and Ndedzu and ordered ZRP to refund the admission of guilty fines each of the accused persons had paid to the law enforcement agency on 17 April 2025.
In his response to the letter written by Kabaya, Chibwe and Chinopfukutwa, Magistrate Matova ordered that a full trial should conducted, where the trio will answer to charges of disorderly conduct in a public place as defined in section 41 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act and asked the District Public Prosecutor to ensure that the UZ lecturers are prosecuted in the ordinary course.