Students abducted, beaten and dumped 120km away — a fresh front in Zimbabwe’s political crackdown
Two student activists from Chinhoyi University of Technology — Marlvin Saint Madanda and Lindon Zanga — were abducted in broad daylight during Students Representative Council (SRC) campaign activity and later found injured and incapacitated 120 kilometres away, in Shamva. The incident, condemned by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa, has reopened raw questions about the targeting of youth activists, the politicisation of campus life and the continuing shadow of politically motivated violence in Zimbabwe.
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What happened
According to reports, Madanda and Zanga, both members of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), were seized at Mzimba Shopping Centre in Chinhoyi by unidentified men travelling in an unmarked grey Isuzu. The vehicle has been alleged to have links with a rival student grouping, the Zimbabwe Congress of Students’ Union (ZICOSU). The two were discovered in Shamva later the same day, badly shaken and with injuries that left them unable to sit or walk properly.
Chamisa framed the attack as symptomatic of a wider pattern of repression, saying the current atmosphere of intimidation was worse than what had been seen under the late Robert Mugabe. The leader’s comparison will resonate widely: student politics in Zimbabwe has long been a barometer of national tensions and a frontline for state and party struggles over power and influence.
Why this matters
On the surface this is an attack on two individuals on a university campus. Beneath that, it is an assault on the fragile space where young people contest ideas, mobilise politically and develop future leaders. Universities have historically been crucibles of dissent in Zimbabwe; the crackdown on student bodies signals anxiety among entrenched powerholders about independent youth organising.
There are several immediate implications. First, the physical safety of students and campus staff is at stake. Abductions and beatings have a chilling effect: many will curtail participation in campus politics, withdraw from activism, or self-censor. Second, the apparent involvement of rival student organisations points to how national political schisms are being played out in microcosm on campuses, often with violent consequences. Third, impunity — or the perception of it — corrodes trust in the police and the justice system. If perpetrators are allowed to act without consequence, politically motivated violence becomes a cost of civic engagement.
Context: the long shadow of political violence
Over decades, Zimbabwe has experienced cycles of politically driven intimidation and violence that stretch from rural wards to urban centres and university campuses. Student unions have at times been co-opted, fragmented or suppressed by political actors seeking to control youth narratives. Rival student formations are frequently accused of being aligned with broader party interests; those accusations — whether true in each instance or not — reflect a competitive ecosystem in which violence can be employed as a tactic to secure control.
Chamisa’s invocation of the Mugabe era is not merely rhetorical. Many older activists draw direct lines between past practices — use of coercion, unofficial security actors, and targeted abductions — and contemporary tactics. What adds alarm is the suggestion that the tools of repression have not been set aside but repurposed and, in some cases, intensified.
Questions that need answers
- Who ordered the abduction and who carried it out? Were any state agents involved directly or indirectly?
- What role, if any, did ZICOSU members play and how should allegations against rival student groups be investigated?
- What steps are university authorities and the police taking to protect students and to investigate the incident impartially?
- Will victims receive proper medical attention, psychosocial support, and legal recourse?
What should happen next
Transparent, independent investigations are essential. That means the police must act quickly, turn up credible leads, and keep the public informed. Universities need to assert their autonomy by protecting campuses as spaces of free political activity and by ensuring that elections are conducted safely and fairly. Student bodies and civil society can help by documenting abuses and providing support to victims, but they require the space to operate without fear of reprisal.
International actors and rights groups should monitor the situation closely — not to score political points but to push for accountability where local mechanisms fail. For the families and classmates of Madanda and Zanga, immediate priorities are medical care and trauma support; for the broader public, the priority is preserving the civic space students depend on to speak and organise.
Broader stakes
How a country treats its students offers an early indicator of its democratic health. If universities are battlegrounds where violence is an accepted means of settling political disputes, the implications extend beyond campuses to the wider polity. Young people are not merely politically active; they are also the future of any political settlement. Silencing them through fear or force is not merely a violation of individual rights — it is an investment in long-term instability.
The abduction and assault of two student activists in Chinhoyi should be a wake-up call. Institutions — from university administrations and the police to political parties and civic groups — now face a choice: investigate, prosecute and protect, or allow a culture of intimidation to deepen. How they respond will say a great deal about the country’s direction in the coming months and years.
By News-room
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
