THE Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) has taken advantage of the Covid-19 scourge to block visits to arrested journalist Hopewell Chinono and opposition leader Jacob Ngarivhume.
The duo’s lawyers over the weekend claimed that their clients were being discriminated as they await trial on charges of inciting public violence.
Ms Beatrice Mtetwa and the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR) claimed that their clients are being discriminated on to an extent that they could be poisoned while in prison.
ZPCS spokesperson Supt Meya Khanyezi said the Commissioner General of Prisons, is allowed under the country’s laws to transfer or make standing orders without consulting legal representatives of inmates.
“The Commissioner General is empowered to make standing orders and it is in terms of these standing orders that certain categories of prisoners can only have visitors within sight and hearing of prison officers. Transfer of inmates from one prison to another is entirely an administrative issue. ZPCS is not obligated to inform an inmate’s lawyers,” he said.
According to the Commissioner General Standing Order, Part VII Visits and Communication Section 140 (6), “Unless specifically authorised by the Commissioner General, all visits by a legal practitioner shall be in the presence and hearing of an officer who understands the language used and it shall be a condition of the visit that the legal practitioner may only discuss matters arising from his employment as legal representative of the detainee.
In view of the spiking cases of the Covid-19 pandemic and the portent threat it poses in prisons where maintaining social distance is difficult, the ZPCS has also taken measures to minimise contact between inmates and the outside world.
“The decision to suspend the visits was taken with the interest of offenders at heart. It is not a punitive measure but a temporary preventive action meant to ensure that the incarcerated are protected from the Covid-19 pandemic that has affected and killed a number of people worldwide. Although we have recorded cases in Beitbridge, Plumtree, Masvingo, Whawha and Bulawayo we have since put measures to curb the continuous spread of the disease in our prisons.
“This was not a decision we arrived at lightly, as we understand and recognise the importance of family contact with the prison population. Our primary concern has to be public safety and reducing the number of people who enter our facilities is a key factor in limiting the potential spread of this illness into our prisoner population. The department will continue to monitor the situation to determine when visits will be restored,” said Supt Khanyezi.
He said since convicted prisoners and persons on remand are held in a high-risk environment as facilities are not adapted to face large-scale epidemics, it is important to minimize visits.
“As ZPCS we also ensure that during the Covid-19 pandemic the human rights of all those who remain in detention are upheld while taking the specific needs of the most vulnerable detainees, persons with disabilities, pregnant women and juvenile detainees into account. Any restrictions imposed on detainees should be non-discriminatory, necessary, proportionate, time-limited and transparent”.
Both Ngarivhume and Chin’ono are being treated just as any other intimates, the prisons spokesperson said.