Seven (7) parents of students at Prince Edward High School in Harare were arrested on Monday by the police for allegedly acting in a disorderly manner.
The parents were arrested at the school when they were enquiring about the school fees levied for their children, according to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).
They were initially taken to Milton Park Police Station before being ferried to Harare Central Police Station where they were detained. Said ZLHR:
7 parents of students at Prince Edward High School have been arrested by [the Zimbabwe Republic Police] for allegedly acting in a disorderly way when they were enquiring about the school fees levied for their children.
They are detained at Harare Central Police Station after initially being detained at Milton Park Police Station. They are represented by Paidamoyo Saurombe of ZLHR.
NewZimbabwe.com reported that the parents accused school authorities of embezzling funds and ignoring raw sewage flowing in the hostels.
The seven who were arrested were among scores of parents who gathered at the school on Monday morning to urge authorities at the institution to deal with the sewage crisis to avert a cholera outbreak.
Parents also raised concerns over striking teachers, sodomy, bullying, drug and substance abuse, theft and poor governance by the headmaster Agrippa Sora and the School Development Committee (SDC).
They accuse the current SDC chairperson of storing gas tanks at the school, raising fears for learners’ safety in case of an explosion.
The headmaster, Sora reportedly refused to attend to parents who were demanding a meeting with him, and instead, sent his deputy but nothing came out of it.
One of the disgruntled parents, Priscilla Makawa, alleged that the school recorded only a 22 percent pass rate in last year’s O’ Level ZIMSEC examinations. She said:
We have no problem with the USD900 pegged fees for borders but our main concern is that our children are not being taught.
Teachers have not been available for lessons resulting in a very low pass rate of 22% last year.
Our children brought notebooks with only 2-page notes. The content covered so far for the exam classes is less than a quarter of the syllabus.
The general hand workers allege that they have not been paid for the past four months. SDC has ignored both workers’ and parents’ grievances.
As parents, we cannot pay USD900 without any services being offered. We have been denied access to the hostels.
All legal processes being taken by parents have been stifled by the headmaster and the SDC.
Meanwhile, the seven parents who were arrested for acting in a disorderly manner were reportedly later released without a charge.
Disorderly conduct is a criminal offence governed by the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act.
Section 41 of the Act defines disorderly conduct as engaging in any behavior that is likely to cause a breach of peace or public disorder, such as fighting, using offensive or threatening language, or behaving in a manner likely to cause fear or alarm.
If a person is found guilty of disorderly conduct, they may face penalties such as fines or imprisonment.
The severity of the penalty will depend on the specific circumstances of the case and the discretion of the court.
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