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After a watershed election March 29 in Zimbabwe that observers said ousted longtime President Robert Mugabe, teachers and union activists are bearing the brunt of government repression.

The opposition Movement for Democratic Change, led by exiled former union leader Morgan Tsvangirai, is calling on Mugabe to concede the presidency, which he has held since 1980. Tsvangirai, who led the mine workers’ union, is planning a return to the country despite assassination threats. Mugabe’s ruling party lost parliamentary elections, and the opposition won a close election for the presidency, forcing a long-delayed run-off vote set for June 27.

Meanwhile, two leaders of the Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions, President Lovemore Matombo and Secretary-General Wellington Chibebe, have been imprisoned since May 8. They are accused of inciting political violence for speeches on May Day.

Immediately after the bail hearing for the ZCTU leaders, Raymond Majongwe, general secretary of the Progressive Teachers’ Union of Zimbabwe, was arrested without charges.

After international calls for their release, the two leaders of the ZCTU were allowed out on bail, but they remain under house arrest and are banned from attending political meetings. But Majongwe remains in jail.

Teachers face heavy intimidation in the lead up to the run-off election. The teachers’ union says more than 5,000 teachers have been beaten, at least 600 have been hospitalized, and about 230 teachers have seen their houses burned down.

Letters of protest to the Zimbabwean Embassy can be sent to 1608 New Hampshire Ave. Washington, D.C. 20009 or emailed to: info at zimbabwe-embassy.us.

Expiration Date:
Mon, 06/30/2008 - 9:59pm