The Master and Fellows of the College were dismayed to hear of the recent conviction of Sidney alumna and Honorary Fellow Tsitsi Dangarembga for ‘incitement to violence’ following a peaceful protest in the Zimbabwean capital Harare.
The charge against one of the country’s most eminent novelists and prominent public voices is an act of intimidation and harassment by the Zimbabwean government, and represents a worrying development for the future of political discourse, freedom of expression, and civil society in the country.
Sidney Sussex is fully committed to the principles of Freedom of Expression and the right of people to peacefully protest. We therefore join the wider international community in condemning this attack on the rights and freedoms of Dangarembga and of Zimbabwean citizens more generally, and call upon the Zimbabwean government to demonstrate its commitment to freedom of political organization and expression.
You can read a statement from Dr Dangarembga herself, issued by her publishers, here, and a statement by the PEN International organization here.
Photograph: Jekesai Njikizana/AFP/Getty Images
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