In Solidarity with Bridget Dhliwayo and ARTUZ - By Romancia Chiomba

5^th May 2026

Bridget Dhliwayo, a secondary school teacher stationed at Zibungululu Secondary School in Tsholotsho District was fired via a letter dated 10th April 2026 written by the Chief Director of Provincial Education Services for Matabeleland North, J.A. Mpofu, for daring to demand fair wages.

On 13th May 2025 she had been photographed in a classroom holding a placard that read  "We Demand a Fair Wage. We Say No to Slave Wages. Sifuna Imali Now." She went on to post it on to an ARTUZ WhatsApp group, captioned: “Enough is enough guys. Look at the condition of the classrooms.”

This was during an online demonstration organised by the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) back then in May 2025.

Her employers ostensibly fired her for not conducting lessons as specified in the master timetable for term 2 between 13th and 20th May 2025.

The real reason she has been fired is that she was bold enough to hold that placard and post the picture on social media whilst partaking in an online demonstration organised by the Amalgamated Rural Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ).

The demonstration was for a genuine cause. Teachers need a living wage and good working conditions.

The government must address the issues she and other teachers are raising instead of singling out individuals like Bridget Dhliwayo and victimising them.

We stand in solidarity with Bridget Dhliwayo and all teachers in Zimbabwe and support their fight for better remuneration and better working conditions.

Instead of looting the national coffers and sharing the loot via a network of cronyism, Emmerson Mnangagwa must allocate sufficient resources for the education sector otherwise education continues to suffer.

Education is a human right according to Section 75 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, article 26 of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as Article 17 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights. The teachers are not asking for a favour, they are asking for their rights and those of pupils and students.

#Zimbabwe
#HumanRights
#ROHRZimbabwe

About the author
Romancia Chiomba is a human rights activist based in the United Kingdom. She is the Treasurer for the North Branch of the UK Chapter of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe.  She can be contacted by email at  romancia.chiomba@rohr-zimbabwe.org OR romanciachiomba @gmail.com