By Tatenda Chitagu

MASVINGO- A report on WhatsApp claimed students were barred from using the Great Zimbabwe University entrance on graduation day recently. ZimTracker fact checked the story and discovered that the report was true.

As claimed on WhatsApp, the main road to the institution of higher learning was sealed off and only reserved for the president and his entourage.

Under the watch of President Mnangagwa’s security details, university authorities had bad news for the graduands who had used the normal university route-which passes past Rujeko high density suburb along the old Great Zimbabwe Road.

They had to travel back to Masvingo town and use an unfamiliar route-going along the Mutare road for about four kilometers, turning right into a dust road just after Four Brigade Army Headquarters. They would then pass through a farm, using rugged terrain that needed an off-road vehicle to reach an entrance designated for them.

And this practice of segregating the entrances on the basis of position in society became a first for the university institution which always had an open door and road policy when the late former President Robert Mugabe presided over previous graduation ceremonies.

As a result, massive inconveniences were inflicted upon the graduating students and their relatives who had travelled long distances to attend the ceremony without budgeting for the longer and unfamiliar route, which required one to hire a taxi.

Some graduating students needed to blow up their hair and gowns which were covered in dust and relatives unfamiliar with Masvingo got lost and headed to the city’s Bio Nutrient Removal Plant (BNR), commonly known as the sewage works instead of the campus.

Having accessed the venue via an unorthodox route, the graduands’ woes were far from over.

At that makeshift gate, they were searched and ladies’ handbags were turned upside down.

“Only the phone and wallet were allowed inside. Purses were not allowed inside. Comps, lipstick were thrown in some corner and after the function many people could not find their items. We did not know who took them,” a graduand said on condition of anonymity.

Ironically, the route they used is near the airport where Mnangagwa landed, and students said he could have used it himself.

The University’s response:

GZU public relations manager, Anderson Chipatiso, commenting on the complaints by the graduands, said the institution had created a different route for the graduands which directly led to where they were supposed to park their cars.

“The road to the graduation ceremony at the main campus was not sealed. We created an access route which led to the graduands and their visitors’ car park directly. It is unfortunate if some people felt that way. We thought it was the best direct route to their car park,” Chipatiso said.

He said those whose items went missing were supposed to report to the GZU security department.