MDC Youth Assembly Condemns Mukono detention

The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) Youth Assembly condemns the continued detention of Zimbabwe National Students Union Zimbabwe (ZINASU) President Mr. Pride Mukono.
Mukono has been denied bail by the Magistrates Court in Gweru and will spend the next fortnight without his freedom.
Mukono is charged for leading an 'unsanctioned' demonstration at the Midlands State University (MSU) over delayed payment of fees by government for students under the cadetship scheme. Mukono is said to have violated sections of the draconian Public Order and Security Act (POSA).
The MDC Youth Assembly shares the same belief with students and college administrators that the cadetship scheme is not only unsustainable but also an insult on the right to education. We believe that tertiary education institutions are different from police depots and military barracks where graduates have to be subjected to compulsory service after training. We therefore view the said demonstration as a valid way of drawing the government's attention to reality of the injustice of the cadetship scheme.
The MDC Youth Assembly also believes in a free and democratic society where such rights and freedoms pertaining to association and assembly are guaranteed by the constitution and respected by all. We therefore view the use of POSA for the detention of Mukono and other human rights activists not only as an injustice but as an attack to the foundations of the democracy that we so much cherish.
While we welcome the release of other student leaders ,we learn with deep shock that this government has resorted to detaining student leaders like former MSU Students Representative Council president Believe Tevera at hallmarks of colonial repression like Hwahwa Prison. 
We call upon all democratic forces to join the call for the freedom of Mukono, the abolition of the cadetship scheme and the repeal of POSA. This should give us an opportunity to resume identification of common struggles for young people that transcend across political, religious, civic and ethnic curtains.