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Honour for student who fled Zimbabwe
9:08am Wednesday 28th May 2008
Comments (39)A Zimbabwean refugee and mature student has told how he escaped becoming a victim of Robert Mugabe's regime by hours - to rebuild his life in West Yorkshire.
Sakile Mtombeni, a 38-year-old father of two, will graduate from a social work degree at the University of Bradford this summer.
Mr Mtombeni was presented with an award from university bosses last week in recognition of his outstanding performance on the course. His is expected to get top honours when results are released this summer.
Mr Mtombeni was forced to flee Zimbabwe in 2000. While working as a secondary school teacher in the capital, Harare, teachers were ordered by senior officials from ruling party Zanu-PF to terminate classes and accompany all students to a political rally.
Mr Mtombeni said: "The whole school had been instructed to go and attend the rally. I approached the other staff and said it was not appropriate to take students to a political rally without parental consent because they were meant to be in school.
"I knew that the information that I didn't want the students to attend would get back to Zanu-PF and knew when I made that decision that I would be in danger."
Concerned for his safety, Mr Mtombeni spent the following night at his sister's house - a decision which soon proved correct.
"My colleagues said there were people who came looking for me that night at my house. My house was surrounded by so-called War Veterans who were part of Zanu-PF. I arranged for some time off from school and stayed at my sister's house. Zanu-PF did not know where I was."
Mr Mtombeni hoped the situation might change and he may be able to return to his job. However, after two months in hiding, it became apparent this would not be the case and, alongside his wife Hilda, a nurse, and daughters Amanda and Audrey, now 17 and 12, he moved to West Yorkshire.
After finding work with an engineering company he returned to education in 2005 by signing up to study for a social work degree at Bradford University. During a work placement with Bradford Council's children services department earlier this year, he impressed bosses and was offered a full-time position.
"There are always challenges in returning to education as an adult but I would encourage anyone who wants to, to do it," he said.
"The welcome that I received when I came to England was so wonderful that it's now my time to do what is right for the people of England and Bradford."
Mr Mtombeni's personal tutor, Ella Mistry-Jackson, a social work lecturer at the University of Bradford, said he had proved "an inspiration" to her.
She said: "He has faced a lot of personal difficulties but has been a real joy to teach. He is a good, solid role model to other students."
Mr Mtombeni also received an Adult Learners' Award from the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education.
e-mail: dan.webber@telegraphandargus.co.uk
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Your Say YourBradford Telegraph and Argus
Andy Bairsto, bradford says...
9:47am Wed 28 May 08
Andy Bairsto, bradford says...
9:47am Wed 28 May 08
spinnekop, Yorkshire says...
11:38am Wed 28 May 08
Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)
spinnekop, Yorkshire says...
11:38am Wed 28 May 08
Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)
spinnekop, Yorkshire says...
11:38am Wed 28 May 08
Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)
cowboybob, Bratfud says...
12:36pm Wed 28 May 08
cowboybob, Bratfud says...
12:36pm Wed 28 May 08
cowboybob, Bratfud says...
12:36pm Wed 28 May 08
sigil, terminus says...
1:17pm Wed 28 May 08
spinnekop wrote:It is still true, whatever you say.
Andy, take your attitude and shove it mate. This guy has done good. Praise where praise is due? Or are you not a Yorkshire man?
Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)
sigil, terminus says...
1:17pm Wed 28 May 08
spinnekop wrote:It is still true, whatever you say.
Andy, take your attitude and shove it mate. This guy has done good. Praise where praise is due? Or are you not a Yorkshire man?
Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)
sigil, terminus says...
1:17pm Wed 28 May 08
spinnekop wrote:It is still true, whatever you say.
Andy, take your attitude and shove it mate. This guy has done good. Praise where praise is due? Or are you not a Yorkshire man?
Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)
skippy, says...
1:54pm Wed 28 May 08
sigil wrote:you are not wrong,anybody can get into this country we are the laughing stock of the world.
spinnekop wrote: Andy, take your attitude and shove it mate. This guy has done good. Praise where praise is due? Or are you not a Yorkshire man? Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)It is still true, whatever you say.
skippy, says...
1:54pm Wed 28 May 08
sigil wrote:you are not wrong,anybody can get into this country we are the laughing stock of the world.
spinnekop wrote: Andy, take your attitude and shove it mate. This guy has done good. Praise where praise is due? Or are you not a Yorkshire man? Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)It is still true, whatever you say.
skippy, says...
1:54pm Wed 28 May 08
sigil wrote:you are not wrong,anybody can get into this country we are the laughing stock of the world.
spinnekop wrote: Andy, take your attitude and shove it mate. This guy has done good. Praise where praise is due? Or are you not a Yorkshire man? Good on ya Sakile, well done our kid. :)It is still true, whatever you say.
gaz4, east bowling says...
2:40pm Wed 28 May 08
gaz4, east bowling says...
2:40pm Wed 28 May 08
gaz4, east bowling says...
2:40pm Wed 28 May 08
mrs walker, round here says...
12:27am Thu 29 May 08
Yet Zimbabwe was formerly a British colony (Rhodesia) where six million black African people were subjugated by white minority rule. When the Prime Minister Ian Smith declared independence from Britain there was an outcry and punitive sanctions were imposed against the country.
This suggests that it's ok to settle in another country as long as you claim sovereignty over it, strip its resources and behave like a colonialist.. It's not ok to settle in another country if you just want to work hard and pay taxes...
Should the white settlers - the 'ex-Rhodesians' who fled back to England following Mugabe's landgrab - have been forbidden to come here too?
mrs walker, round here says...
12:27am Thu 29 May 08
Yet Zimbabwe was formerly a British colony (Rhodesia) where six million black African people were subjugated by white minority rule. When the Prime Minister Ian Smith declared independence from Britain there was an outcry and punitive sanctions were imposed against the country.
This suggests that it's ok to settle in another country as long as you claim sovereignty over it, strip its resources and behave like a colonialist.. It's not ok to settle in another country if you just want to work hard and pay taxes...
Should the white settlers - the 'ex-Rhodesians' who fled back to England following Mugabe's landgrab - have been forbidden to come here too?
mrs walker, round here says...
12:27am Thu 29 May 08
Yet Zimbabwe was formerly a British colony (Rhodesia) where six million black African people were subjugated by white minority rule. When the Prime Minister Ian Smith declared independence from Britain there was an outcry and punitive sanctions were imposed against the country.
This suggests that it's ok to settle in another country as long as you claim sovereignty over it, strip its resources and behave like a colonialist.. It's not ok to settle in another country if you just want to work hard and pay taxes...
Should the white settlers - the 'ex-Rhodesians' who fled back to England following Mugabe's landgrab - have been forbidden to come here too?
mrs walker, round here says...
12:37am Thu 29 May 08
we are the laughing stock of the world.
Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards.
You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
mrs walker, round here says...
12:37am Thu 29 May 08
we are the laughing stock of the world.
Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards.
You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
mrs walker, round here says...
12:37am Thu 29 May 08
we are the laughing stock of the world.
Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards.
You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
skippy, says...
12:39pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:are you having a laugh,the only reason he came to this country is because he knew he could get in easily as stated above there were other countries to enter before here why didnt he choose one of them?i might have been proud of him if he was english
we are the laughing stock of the world.Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards. You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
skippy, says...
12:39pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:are you having a laugh,the only reason he came to this country is because he knew he could get in easily as stated above there were other countries to enter before here why didnt he choose one of them?i might have been proud of him if he was english
we are the laughing stock of the world.Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards. You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
skippy, says...
12:39pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:are you having a laugh,the only reason he came to this country is because he knew he could get in easily as stated above there were other countries to enter before here why didnt he choose one of them?i might have been proud of him if he was english
we are the laughing stock of the world.Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards. You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
albion, west riding says...
5:15pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:And look at the state of the place since Mr Smith was deposed.
Hmmm. The previous posts are denigrating a man who has fled an oppressive and dangerous regime, who has come here, worked hard and excelled at his studies... Yet Zimbabwe was formerly a British colony (Rhodesia) where six million black African people were subjugated by white minority rule. When the Prime Minister Ian Smith declared independence from Britain there was an outcry and punitive sanctions were imposed against the country. This suggests that it's ok to settle in another country as long as you claim sovereignty over it, strip its resources and behave like a colonialist.. It's not ok to settle in another country if you just want to work hard and pay taxes... Should the white settlers - the 'ex-Rhodesians' who fled back to England following Mugabe's landgrab - have been forbidden to come here too?
What the previous posts express is that people are concerned that incomers cross dozens of free countries to get to the promised land, this isnt supposed to happen, and no matter what his merits he is here illegally.
And regarding white settlers, yes they should have been refused entry too, apart from those who had kept their British identity.
albion, west riding says...
5:15pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:And look at the state of the place since Mr Smith was deposed.
Hmmm. The previous posts are denigrating a man who has fled an oppressive and dangerous regime, who has come here, worked hard and excelled at his studies... Yet Zimbabwe was formerly a British colony (Rhodesia) where six million black African people were subjugated by white minority rule. When the Prime Minister Ian Smith declared independence from Britain there was an outcry and punitive sanctions were imposed against the country. This suggests that it's ok to settle in another country as long as you claim sovereignty over it, strip its resources and behave like a colonialist.. It's not ok to settle in another country if you just want to work hard and pay taxes... Should the white settlers - the 'ex-Rhodesians' who fled back to England following Mugabe's landgrab - have been forbidden to come here too?
What the previous posts express is that people are concerned that incomers cross dozens of free countries to get to the promised land, this isnt supposed to happen, and no matter what his merits he is here illegally.
And regarding white settlers, yes they should have been refused entry too, apart from those who had kept their British identity.
albion, west riding says...
5:15pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:And look at the state of the place since Mr Smith was deposed.
Hmmm. The previous posts are denigrating a man who has fled an oppressive and dangerous regime, who has come here, worked hard and excelled at his studies... Yet Zimbabwe was formerly a British colony (Rhodesia) where six million black African people were subjugated by white minority rule. When the Prime Minister Ian Smith declared independence from Britain there was an outcry and punitive sanctions were imposed against the country. This suggests that it's ok to settle in another country as long as you claim sovereignty over it, strip its resources and behave like a colonialist.. It's not ok to settle in another country if you just want to work hard and pay taxes... Should the white settlers - the 'ex-Rhodesians' who fled back to England following Mugabe's landgrab - have been forbidden to come here too?
What the previous posts express is that people are concerned that incomers cross dozens of free countries to get to the promised land, this isnt supposed to happen, and no matter what his merits he is here illegally.
And regarding white settlers, yes they should have been refused entry too, apart from those who had kept their British identity.
albion, west riding says...
5:17pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:I would manage without, thankyou very much.
we are the laughing stock of the world.Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards. You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
albion, west riding says...
5:17pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:I would manage without, thankyou very much.
we are the laughing stock of the world.Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards. You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
albion, west riding says...
5:17pm Thu 29 May 08
mrs walker wrote:I would manage without, thankyou very much.
we are the laughing stock of the world.Only because our 'natives' are so ignorant. We obviously need more clever people who graduate with top honours - like Mr Mtombeni - to raise the standards. You should be proud to have a clever, brave and honourable man like this in Bradford.
mrs walker, round here says...
2:29pm Sat 31 May 08
I'd love to see Bradford full of clever, brave and honourable people though, to displace the thieves, the lowlifes, the mean-spirited...and our own existing cruel racist bigots whichever race or culture they crawled from.
mrs walker, round here says...
2:29pm Sat 31 May 08
I'd love to see Bradford full of clever, brave and honourable people though, to displace the thieves, the lowlifes, the mean-spirited...and our own existing cruel racist bigots whichever race or culture they crawled from.
mrs walker, round here says...
2:29pm Sat 31 May 08
I'd love to see Bradford full of clever, brave and honourable people though, to displace the thieves, the lowlifes, the mean-spirited...and our own existing cruel racist bigots whichever race or culture they crawled from.
albion, west riding says...
6:40am Mon 2 Jun 08
mrs walker wrote:It is Mrs Walker natural behaviour i am afraid (look at the religious fuelled racism in the Indian subcontinent or the Middle East) it is everywhere. Your utopian vision of Bradford might be very desirable, but it is a long way off, if ever. In the last 40yrs the influx of people who couldnt be more different to ourselves combined with the decline of the local industries and free-spending councils has brought the city to its knees, anyone who thinks of it in other terms is suffering from delusions of grandeur.
Ian Smith was a cruel racist bigot as far as I can tell, Albion. And then they get Mugabe, who could be similarly described... I'd love to see Bradford full of clever, brave and honourable people though, to displace the thieves, the lowlifes, the mean-spirited...and our own existing cruel racist bigots whichever race or culture they crawled from.
I think your comments regarding Ian Smith are inacurate, he made the country in to a very successful independant nation, and after his political retirement continued to live there as a farmer, there have been suggestions that if the opposition gain power in the country many of the former white farmers would be invited to return!
albion, west riding says...
6:40am Mon 2 Jun 08
mrs walker wrote:It is Mrs Walker natural behaviour i am afraid (look at the religious fuelled racism in the Indian subcontinent or the Middle East) it is everywhere. Your utopian vision of Bradford might be very desirable, but it is a long way off, if ever. In the last 40yrs the influx of people who couldnt be more different to ourselves combined with the decline of the local industries and free-spending councils has brought the city to its knees, anyone who thinks of it in other terms is suffering from delusions of grandeur.
Ian Smith was a cruel racist bigot as far as I can tell, Albion. And then they get Mugabe, who could be similarly described... I'd love to see Bradford full of clever, brave and honourable people though, to displace the thieves, the lowlifes, the mean-spirited...and our own existing cruel racist bigots whichever race or culture they crawled from.
I think your comments regarding Ian Smith are inacurate, he made the country in to a very successful independant nation, and after his political retirement continued to live there as a farmer, there have been suggestions that if the opposition gain power in the country many of the former white farmers would be invited to return!
albion, west riding says...
6:40am Mon 2 Jun 08
mrs walker wrote:It is Mrs Walker natural behaviour i am afraid (look at the religious fuelled racism in the Indian subcontinent or the Middle East) it is everywhere. Your utopian vision of Bradford might be very desirable, but it is a long way off, if ever. In the last 40yrs the influx of people who couldnt be more different to ourselves combined with the decline of the local industries and free-spending councils has brought the city to its knees, anyone who thinks of it in other terms is suffering from delusions of grandeur.
Ian Smith was a cruel racist bigot as far as I can tell, Albion. And then they get Mugabe, who could be similarly described... I'd love to see Bradford full of clever, brave and honourable people though, to displace the thieves, the lowlifes, the mean-spirited...and our own existing cruel racist bigots whichever race or culture they crawled from.
I think your comments regarding Ian Smith are inacurate, he made the country in to a very successful independant nation, and after his political retirement continued to live there as a farmer, there have been suggestions that if the opposition gain power in the country many of the former white farmers would be invited to return!
Sakile Mtombeni had to flee Zimbabwe
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Andy Bairsto, bradford says...
9:47am Wed 28 May 08