Mugabe being investigated for forcing school children to attend rallies

The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) is investigating President Robert Mugabe and first lady Grace Mugabe for allegedly forcing school children to attend Zanu-PF rallies and exposing them to hate speech. This comes after the Amalgamated Rural Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) lodged a complaint.

ARTUZ president Obert Masaraura told NewsDay that after they lodged the complaint, ZHRC asked them to provide further details and that they would consult other teacher’s unions. He also said that the ARTUZ would not sorely rely on ZHRC but has launched a parallel safe schools campaign, where they are educating communities to rise and defend the rights of children and further protect school property from abuse.

In their letter of complaint ARTUZ said when attending these rallies, schoolchildren were forced to skip classes, undermining their right to education as protected by section 75 of the Constitution, as well as other international declarations, which Zimbabwe is party to.