Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) has accused the government of weaponising the law to stop the union from pushing for better salaries for civil servants.
ARTUZ leaders President Obert Masaraure and Secretary-General Robson Chere are jointly facing murder charges relating to the death of Roy Issa who was allegedly murdered in 2016.
Chere was arrested on Tuesday while Masaraure was recently released on bail.
In a statement, yesterday Masaraure said he has been taken aback as “the incident was exhaustively investigated by the homicide department in 2016.”
“The Law and Order Section of the police has taken over the investigations rubbishing all findings made in 2016,” he said.
“The Law and Order traditionally handles sensitive political matters not cases of murder. The involvement of the Law and Order arm in this case is a clear indication that the law is being weaponised to paralyse ARTUZ operations.”
“Robson Chere is just as innocent as I am. The State seeks to strain and compromise ARTUZ’s capacity to respond to the worsening socio-economic crisis which has reduced teachers to paupers and placed education sector into intensive care unit.
“I invite you to join our fight of demanding freedom for Robson Chere under these difficult times.”
Masaure said he was grateful for the consistent advocacy by citizens which led him to be released on bail and implored neutrals and critics alike to urge the state to release Chere.
