9.4. On top of being forced to attend rallies the teachers were also forced to prepare poems, speeches and dramas with the theme of the rally which would then be presented by the children. He went on to highlight that when the rallies are held at rural schools children from grade 4 to grade 7 were all forced to attend. Sometimes this involved walking to the venues where the rallies were held. He gave an example of one rally that was held 11 kilometres away from their school where the school children had to go. The children walked the 11 kilometres to and 11 kilometres back. The teachers took turns to walk to and from the rally so the first half walked to the rally while the other half used public transport. On coming back those who walked then got public transport while those who had used public transport had to walk with the children in terms of the education policy where teachers are obligated to be with the children always. The fare for the public transport was not provided by the schools but it came from one’s pocket. This was done without any indemnity from parents who usually only get to know about the involvement of their children after the rally. 9.5. The use of school property at political rallies- one of the issues that the complainants raised was that schools were also compelled to offer school property such as vehicles, trucks and furniture. School buses and trucks were used to transport communities to the events while children were made to walk. They also compelled people to bring their sofas, chairs and tables including children’s chairs and tables such that the children remaining in the schools would remain with nothing to sit or write on. At the Gweru youth interface rally, the Commission observed a number of buses from schools and tertiary institutions such as Midlands States University, Guinea Fowl, Ascot High School, Hama High School, Gweru Polytechnical College, Amaveni High School (Kwekwe), Shabani Primary School (Zvishavane), Drake High School, Danhamombe High School, Holly Cross High School, Rutendo High School, Rio Tinto Zhombe High School, Tongogara High School, Serima High School, Kwekwe Primary School and many others. A number eighteen (18) buses from Page 11 of 17

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