Paul Nyathi|The International Confederation of Red Cross (ICRC) says that Zimbabwe’s prisons are now regarded as some of the best in terms of inmates welfare and human rights.
Speaking to journalists in Gweru last week, ICRC representative Mr Hilton Zvidzayi said Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service had implemented reforms prescribed by Red Cross in prisons during a training programme to improve the welfare of inmates.
Mr Zvidzayi said ICRC has since weaned ZPCS off its programme following full compliance by Government and prison authorities.
“Zimbabwe prisons are some of the best ones in Southern Africa. We engaged ZPS to improve on the welfare of prisoners and we are happy that we trained them and now they are on their own. We are very happy with the tremendous progress in prisons.
“We had access to every corner of prisons and we had one-on-one interviews with prisoners in the absence of prison officers or authorities. We also trained them on humanitarian law. As we speak in terms of food we have prisons such as Khami Prison which is now assisting other prisons in the country. We are happy that Zimbabwean authorities are very compliant,” he said.
The claims come at a time when the country’s prisons are crumbling at the seams, assailed by overcrowding and a critical shortage of medicines, food and other basics as the economically-crippled country battles to care for its inmates.
Convicts and wardens alike bemoan packed cells where running water is erratic and shortages of food, clothes and bedding prevail. Basic painkillers and antibiotics are impossible to come by, meaning prisoners risk dying from easily treatable conditions.
Prisoners have been seen bwearing threadbare uniforms in the prison’s male and female sections. Inside most prison cells, paint flakes off the walls and for bedding, prisoners have thin blankets on bare cement floors and the cells were infested with lice and other vermin.
The country’s 46 prisons were built to collectively incarcerate 14 000 prisoners, but hold more than 25 000 today.
At Chikurubi Prison, as an example, the men’s section houses 2 508 inmates, instead of the 1 360 it was designed for.
Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) has condemned such “deplorable” conditions, which it said “exposes inmates to illnesses and psychological trauma”.
The body said, more than 100 prisoners have in recent years died of malnutrition-related illnesses.
Mr Zvidzayi said ICRC is also engaging Zimbabwe Republic Police and Zimbabwe Defence Forces on humanitarian law and protection of civilians.