DESPITE the release of 3 000 prisoners through the Presidential Amnesty last year, Zimbabwe’s prisons are still overpopulated, with the country’s correctional facilities carrying 2 382 inmates above their recommended capacity.

Figures released by the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services during the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair held in Bulawayo last week showed that as of last week, Zimbabwe’s prisons had 19 382 prisoners against a carrying capacity of 17 000. Of these 18 928 of those inmates are male, of which 15 508 have already been convicted while
3 421 are still waiting for the finalisation of their court cases.

The figures showed the country has 458 female inmates, with 273 of those serving substantive prison sentences while 185 are on remand. The country has 113 juvenile prisoners, with 105 boys and eight girls incarcerated. A total of 69 inmates are at the country’s only open prison facility in Connemara, Gweru. ZPCS also has 316 detained mental patients and 408 criminal mental patients.

In an interview, ZPCS spokesperson Chief Correctional Officer Meya Khanyezi said the country’s prison population was always swelling because of people in remand waiting for the finalisation of their cases.

She said one of the ways in which pressure on the country’s correctional facilities could be relieved was by facilitating projects that give inmates skills to function and flourish beyond prisons walls.

“The solution is for the community to partner with us because we are saying we are promoting development through corrections. We have an open door policy and we are saying people should come on board and help us.

However, most of the money that we need comes from the society but society is reluctant because of the crimes that these people would have committed. We’re saying these people deserve forgiveness so that both they and their victims move on,” she said.State media