Students booted out for Zanu-PF event

CHINHOYI University of Technology (CUT) students living in campus accommodation have been ordered to vacate the hostels by next Tuesday to make way for delegates attending Zanu-PF's annual conference.

The directive has triggered anger and disruption at the university, with students questioning the decision to displace them from their accommodation to accommodate the ruling party's delegates.

Zanu-PF is scheduled to hold its 23rd annual conference at CUT from October 12 to 17, 2026, with about 3 500 delegates expected to attend.

Advance teams, including security personnel, have already started arriving on campus in preparation for the gathering.

The decision to turn university accommodation over to conference delegates has disrupted normal university activities, with students now facing uncertainty over where they will stay during the conference period.

Tensions escalated last Thursday when Zimbabwe Republic Police officers reportedly descended on the campus and arrested 11 students shortly before a planned meeting to discuss the eviction directive.

A Zimbabwe National Students Union (Zinasu) source said the arrests occurred as students were preparing to find a solution to the accommodation crisis.

"Our 11 comrades were arrested just before a meeting convened to find a solution for resident students facing the eviction deadline," the source said.

"They each paid a US$15 fine to secure their release and avoid being locked up over the weekend."

The students were subsequently released after paying admission-of-guilt fines.

Kudzai Choga of Choga and Associates confirmed that his law firm had represented the detained students.

"One of our lawyers, Mr Maromo, represented the CUT students, and we are pleased that they have been released," Choga said.

Zinasu CUT branch president Definite Mazvihwa declined to comment in detail, saying the student organisation was preparing an official response to the developments.

The accommodation dispute comes as the university prepares to host one of Zanu-PF's major political events, which will bring thousands of delegates and officials to Chinhoyi.

The decision to accommodate party delegates in university facilities has raised broader questions over the disruption of academic activities and the use of public educational infrastructure for political events.

The conference will also take place against the backdrop of Zimbabwe's contentious constitutional changes, which have altered the country's political landscape and extended President Emmerson Mnangagwa's tenure beyond the previously expected 2028 endpoint.

The amendments have attracted criticism from opposition groups and other stakeholders, with political analysts linking them to the ongoing succession contest within Zanu-PF and efforts to determine Mnangagwa's eventual successor.

For CUT students, however, the immediate concern is accommodation, with those affected now expected to make alternative arrangements as the university prepares to host the ruling party's conference.