SAR’s Academic Freedom Monitoring Project investigates and reports attacks on higher education with the aim of raising awareness, generating advocacy, and increasing protection for scholars, students, and academic communities. Starting July 1, 2026, SAR no longer publishes reports for the incidents that it records. SAR continues to monitor and record incidents that will be used in the annual Free to Think report. This page provides a record of incidents reported up to that date. Learn more about the Academic Freedom Monitoring Project.

Date of Incident: November 10, 2025

Attack Types: Killings, Violence, Disappearances

Institution(s):Chinhoyi University of Technology

Region & Country:Eastern Africa | Zimbabwe

New or Ongoing:New Incident

On November 10, 2025, unidentified individuals abducted two students from Chinhoyi University of Technology (CUT) during a student government election campaign.

Around 10:00 pm on November 10, four men intercepted Lindon Zanga, a candidate in the student elections, and Marlvin Madanda, a member of the Zimbabwe National Students Union (ZINASU), at a public shopping center. The men chased the students and forced them into a car that had reportedly been distributing campaign materials for the rival Zimbabwe Congress of Students’ Union (ZICOSU). Taken to an undisclosed location, the students reported being beaten and forced to drink an unknown substance. The men accused them of denouncing the ruling ZANU-PF party and causing delays to the elections. During the abduction, the students also reported that their personal belongings were stolen.

Madanda and Zanga were left at a police station, injured, shaken, and unable to sit or walk properly. Both were hospitalized for two days following the ordeal.

According to rights groups, kidnappings and assaults targeting government critics, including student leaders, political activists, and journalists, are a common tool of state repression in Zimbabwe. The government has denied its involvement in the attacks and has alleged that a third party is attempting to damage the state’s reputation.

Scholars at Risk is concerned about the abduction of higher education students in apparent retaliation for their exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of association. State authorities should take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of scholars, students, and staff, including by investigating and holding perpetrators of such acts responsible, in line with international human rights standards. In addition to the harm to the immediate victim, kidnappings that target student expression undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.

Sources:
https://www.newzimbabwe.com/two-cut-students-abducted-during-src-election-campaigns-union/
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=2025112021210440
https://allafrica.com/view/group/main/main/id/00094726.html