In Zimbabwe, activists and human rights defenders face significant pressure, especially student activists who are denied education and accused of being Western saboteurs by universities and authorities. They endure threats, coercion, and legal pressure.

Boris Tadiwanashe, the leader of Zimbabwe's National Student Union (ZINASU), recently came to Oslo through the Students at Risk program, which provides student activists the opportunity to complete their studies in Norway. ForUM met the 24-year-old to discuss his student activism.

Truth to power

“My work as a student activist began when I was in high school, and we got a new principal”, Boris says.

The principal used the school premises to hold political meetings and activities for the ruling party, the Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF). ZANU-PF has held a 43-year grip on the country's power and has ruled since the country gained independence in 1980.

Dictator and President Robert Mugabe led the party until 2017 when Emmerson Mnangagwa came to power through a peaceful but military-led coup. The hope that this would lead to change was unfortunately short-lived. Mnangagwa, formerly vice president, had worked closely with Mugabe since the liberation war.

Boris and a friend wrote a lengthy letter to the principal, urging him to stop abusing the school premises and resources to promote ZANU-PF, citing the constitution.

“It got us in trouble. We were summoned to a hearing, and charges were brought against us, including planning a major demonstration. These charges were malicious and meant to punish us for questioning and speaking truth to power,” he says.

Boris risked expulsion. He was only 18 years old and lived alone in the village. His parents had moved to South Africa due to the difficult economic situation in Zimbabwe. He says: “But the case grew, and many influential people began to listen to us. They searched for us and wanted to help”.

The case was dismissed after a teacher organisation and lawyers showed interest. “So, we started becoming more active and having conversations about protecting the rights of high school students,” Boris says. “I became an activist. Then I discovered that there was actually a student organisation fighting for academic freedom and student rights - ZINASU.”

Student activism under pressure

ZINASU is the oldest and largest student organisation in the country. When ZINASU was formally established in 1986, students supported the government's work, but over time they became increasingly critical of Robert Mugabe's increasingly authoritarian rule. The first real opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, grew out of the student movement, trade unions, and other civil society organisations. Due to government criticism, ZINASU is often accused of being part of the opposition. In 2003, ZINASU received the Norwegian Student Peace Prize for its struggle for democracy, human rights, and student rights in Zimbabwe and continues to be important political activists in the country.

Students and the Academics' International Aid Fund (SAIH) have been working with ZINASU since 1999. SAIH's current support focuses on capacity building, student mobilisation, and protection.

The discovery of ZINASU was a turning point in Boris's student activist journey. He was in his final year of high school and was soon ready to start university. When he became a student at Midlands University, he joined the student union. Eventually he was elected human rights and legal secretary, and was to work with student activists at risk, who had been threatened and needed legal help. He also documented human rights violations across the country.

The state apparatus operates intrusively in all parts of Zimbabwean society, and under Mnangagwa, repression and misrule have worsened. Pressure on human rights has increased, and the space for civil society has become increasingly limited. Many point out that human rights abuses are now happening more openly, whereas under Robert Mugabe, they happened more in secret.

An economy in crisis also plays a role. Universities continually demand higher tuition fees, while parents' salaries have become less valuable. Boris explains how some students are denied the opportunity to sit their exams because they have not been able to pay all of their tuition fees.

“We say there should be a possibility of a payment plan, and for that, we are seen as opposition members or as being sent by the West. You are called a traitor or an unpatriotic citizen and can end up in prison because of it,” Boris says.

Since the military coup in 2017, several laws have been introduced to prevent critical voices against the regime. Boris has himself experienced the consequences.

“I have been in prison twice. And I know what prison life feels like in Zimbabwe. It's like hell,” he says. “The most challenging part is that you are treated as a dangerous criminal. They humiliate you and try to crush your fighting spirit. But often when they throw us in jail, we come out with new energy and a greater belief that the authorities must respect human rights and that we must correct everything that is wrong in the country.”

Thanks to organisations like SAIH, ZINASU members receive bail money and legal assistance, including support for the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) organisation. This allows student activists to continue their work. Boris adds: “If your family has to pay for you, it's obvious that they will make sure you quit your activism. SAIH ensures that if we are arrested and need for example $1,000 for bail, they cover that amount.”

From Zimbabwe to Norway

Boris was elected president of ZINASU in January 2023. In June of the same year, he had to flee Zimbabwe.

This happened after he encouraged all students to dress in black and flood social media with pictures. The images were supposed to represent mourning for the death of democracy and signal to the courts that they must respect human rights.

“They considered it a political campaign, and they were looking for us. We were beaten up, and we were arrested,” he says. “Fortunately, I was released just before my exams, and I was able to complete them. But the other comrades did not have the same opportunity. Despite the law stating that if you are a student in prison, you should be given an exam paper and take the exam from prison, it's just something on paper, they don't do it.”

Boris was called and threatened. The authorities tried to trick him into meeting them at a hotel so that they could arrest him. He had to flee.

But the struggle in Zimbabwe continues. In connection with the presidential election in August, ZINASU carried out several campaigns to combat voter apathy and mobilise voter participation. Over 67 per cent of Zimbabwe's population is young, but many do not vote, Boris explains. “This was the basis for the campaign. We wanted to change the narrative. Young people should vote."

ZINASU will soon elect a new president - someone who is in the country and has contact with the grassroot there. But Boris will return. He thanks SAIH for financial support and has a clear message for Norway and the global North: “Being a student activist in Zimbabwe is a very difficult thing. It is a difficult decision to make because you often lose more than you gain from it. Being a student activist means living a life full of frustrations - in the classroom, privately, and socially.”

So why does he do it? Boris says: “I have a strong belief in the ideology. I believe in what is right. And I believe that we deserve a better society based on truth, democratic principles, peacebuilding, and conflict resolution. We are meant to ensure that we experience it in our lifetime.”