Protesting Rural Teachers Granted US$50 Each

Eleven members of the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ), who were arrested in Mutare following a peaceful demonstration on Tuesday, 17 June 2025, have been granted bail set at US$50 each.

According to ARTUZ, the demonstration was organised by its Manicaland provincial structure and followed the official handover of a petition to the Public Service Commission.

The union described the protest as “peaceful and legal” to draw attention to the urgent challenges faced by educators.

The petition highlighted concerns about teachers’ working and living conditions.

On Friday, the union confirmed that the demonstrators, including a nursing mother, were granted bail by the local magistrates’ court. The union said:

Our Cdes have been granted bail of USD 50 each. We still insist that they were not supposed to be arrested in the first place.

Their demands were justifiable and legitimate. The protest process was peaceful and lawful. The arrest was an unnecessary strain on state resources, their personal comfort and their loved ones.

We reiterate that the government must pay teachers a fair wage, provide state funded education, restore vacation leave, recruit more teachers and provide for right to collective bargaining.

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