Maengahama Speaks On Prison Horror
6 June 2022
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By Last Maengahama

It’s now a solid year after Tungamirai Madzokere and l were released from Chikurubi Maximum Prison where we had spent close to a decade serving a 20 year sentence for a crime that we had not committed, our only crime was being members of MDC led by the late Morgan Richard Tsvangirai, May His Soul Rest In Power, we didn’t attend his funeral because we were locked up.

Ours was a case of, there must be a conviction no matter the amount of evidence exonerating the accused, no matter how watertight their alibis are, MDC T members must be the imprisoned at all cost.

Our release on the fourth of June 2021 was a joyous and sad moment, joyous that as political prisoners we were free at last and sad because justice for the late inspector Mutedza wasn’t done, the police and the courts chose to play politics instead of solving a murder case and bringing the actual perpetrators to book.

Justice wasn’t served and in a normal country the Courts would have been put to task, because this is a clear case of how unfair and unjust the court system is in matters that involves pro democracy activists, l call upon all stakeholders to advocate for a Fair and Just judicial system.

Our stay in prison was illegal but it was also an eye opener as we were exposed to the urgenty needs of reforms in the prison system, there is a Rehabilitation crisis, Prisoners aren’t being prepared for re-integration in the society but left alone to choose a life of crimes or law abiding citizens, there is a serious need of cases review in prison because some convicts are innocent, they are imprisoned because of miscarriage of justice.

When we were sentenced to 20 years in prison the Judge was clear that it was a lenient sentence because one of our co accused was a female and the Constitution of Zimbabwe doesn’t allow women to be executed, that’s why we were a saved from death penalty, to think of it that as innocent as we were, we were nearly send to the noose, it is then without no second thought or regret that l call for the abolishment of the Death Penalty because the probability of execution of an innocent people is higher than of an actual criminal and the Death Penalty maybe abused to settle political issues.

Issued by Last Tamai Maengehama