Zimbabwean Teacher’s Salary Frozen For Openly Supporting Opposition Leader Chamisa

ZIMBABWE: The ministry of Primary and Secondary Education has suspended a Hurungwe-based teacher for supporting opposition party, Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC).

The teacher, Blessing Mandava, alleges the suspension was part at the behest of Zanu-PF since he has openly supported CCC and its leader Nelson Chamisa.

As a result of harassment and victimisation at the hands of Education ministry officials allegedly working on the orders of Zanu-PF officials, Mandava says he suffered a stroke and is now afflicted by chronic hypertension.

His salary was frozen last year until now.

Mandava (41) is the CCC interim provincial information and publicity secretary and a staunch supporter of CCC Chamisa.

He told NewZimbabwe.com Wednesday he has been suspended a few times for similar reasons before and slapped with yet another one when he turned up for work Monday when his previous suspension expired.

“l reported for duty on Monday since my suspension had lapsed on Thursday, but surprisingly l was immediately hit with another suspension covering the same period as before but now starting today until June 5, 2022 on the same allegations,” Mandava said.

“The relentless persecution is evident l am being punished for being a former Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and now CCC member, and proponent for change in the rural community. Despite producing medical certificates to prove l am suffering ill-health, the headmaster continues to play dumb and chooses to accuse me of deliberately absenting myself, hence the rolling suspensions,” he said.

Efforts to get comment from acting provincial education director, Jason Dzveta proved fruitless by the time of publishing.

Since 2013, the opposition activist has been brushing with education ministry officials over unilateral transfers, before they resorted to freezing his salary and suspensions.

“I suffered a mild stroke in 2014 due to the victimisation l endured and now l suffer an acute condition of high blood pressure which is regularly forcing me to get doctor’s help and taking medication,. I have often been unwell hence cannot work,” said Mandava.

He accuses Maumbe Primary School headmaster, Gift Bandamakara, and his deputy Jadwell Mugabe of acting on the instructions of local Zanu-PF officials out to fix him for his political activism.

“My current school headmaster is in total disregard of my illness and has ordered me to leave ‘his school’. I have applied to be transferred back to Kasimure which is closer to my home but l have been blocked on numerous occasions on pretext there were no vacancies. As a local resident and homeowner at Kasimure, l have seen teachers come and go, but l am being blocked from working at the station and being with my family,” said Mandava.

In 2013, Mandava was unilaterally transferred by then Hurungwe district schools inspector Dzveta from Kasimure Primary School, which is near his homestead and shunted to current rural outpost station at Maumbe.