HARARE – Firebrand unionist and human rights campaigner Obert Masaraure has summarily been dismissed from his job as a schoolteacher.
The Amalgamated Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (ARTUZ) president revealed his dismissal in a Tuesday post on X.
“Today I received a summary dismissal from my teaching post. The letter dated 30 March was pregnant with lies, but because no one accorded me right to be heard they acted on falsehoods,” he said.
“I have served government since May 2014 and they chose to just terminate my contract.”
The activist condemned his dismissal, saying it ran against the national spirit of reversing the continued shortage of schoolteachers.
“It’s so heart wrenching that we have a serious shortage of STEM teachers. Some of us are willing to serve under the difficult working conditions. The ruling elites choose to invest anything and everything to block us from teaching. They are punishing learners not me. We won’t allow it,” he said.
As a unionist, Masaraure has given government sleepless nights through relentless demands for better working conditions for the country’s educators.
Under the ARTUZ banner, he has organised several protests to press for improved wages.
Outside union business, Masaraure has been a cutting-edge activist who has been at the forefront of continued demands for human rights in the country under Zanu PF.
A fearless activist, Masaraure has however taken as much as he has given as the state has targeted him for retributive action which involve arrests and torture.
His dismissal has invited condemnation, with opposition politician Gift Ostallos Siziba saying he was merely a victim of his aggressive activism.
“ARTUZ President Masaraure is a STEM teacher in a country that is losing teachers leaving the country due to poor remuneration,” Siziba said.
“The regime has expelled him without due process. This is the challenge with the regime in Harare. Instead of addressing the issues raised by the teachers and civil servants it decides to punish their representatives. We have to wage a collective fight! “
Equally, Pashor Raphael Sibanda, another opposition politician and former MP, described Masaraure’s dismissal as a “grave injustice” adding, “our nation cannot afford to lose teachers due to politically motivated actions.”
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