Zimbabwe inmates use Bible as toilet paper

Zimbabwe inmates use Bible as toilet paper

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By Staff Reporter

PRISONERS at the Harare Remand Prison are using pages from Bibles as toilet paper because authorities have failed to provide toiletries, a parliamentary committee heard.

Prisoners also claimed that their rights were being violated as evidenced by delays in having their cases tried. They also alleged routine assaults at the hands of both the police and prison authorities and being made to live under dehumanising conditions, among various other grievances.

The prisoners said this during a tour of the complex by 10 members of the 13-member Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice, chaired by the Deputy Minister of Home Affairs, Shadreck Chipanga.

The inmates complained that they were not being provided with toilet paper and were now using pages from bibles allocated in their cells.
One prisoner said: “ I have been here since 1998. I last appeared in court at the High Court on May 15 2000 and I was told that I would be called but nothing has happened ever since,” he said.

A Zambian national said he had been given trial dates “ a hundred times”, but whenever he went to court he discovered that the dates were fake.

He also alleged that his relatives were being barred from seeing him as prison officers told him that they wanted people with Zimbabwean identity cards only.

He also added that he was of the opinion that his relatives followed the required channel of applying through their embassy, but still they were being denied access to see him.

He added that he had developed an eye problem over the years but could not afford to buy spectacles.

Some of the prisoners alleged that they had no access to doctors, while others complained that they had no access to proper diets prescribed by the doctors.

One prisoner who had a cut on his head alleged that he was assaulted by police, but was not taken to a doctor.

“I am being charged with attempted murder. When I was arrested I was beaten by the police and kept in solitary confinement for three days. I have not seen a doctor ever since,” he said.

Another prisoner complained that when one is very sick, one is kept in chains even when being taken to the prison clinic within the premises. Another one said he could no longer receive medical attention, as his hospital cards were lost at both the prison and Parirenyatwa Hospital.

Yet another one who was bandaged said he was injured while being assaulted by prison wardens.

“ I was brutally assaulted on June 17 2003 and I have been here ever since. My hand is rotting. My nails are falling off. If justice does exist, let it be served,” he said.

A disabled prisoner lamented that the complex had no facilities catering for their needs and as such they had great difficulty when bathing or walking.
In the juvenile section, there were teenagers who expressed a desire to have access to books and information. Among the inmates in the juvenile section was a 16 year old from Muzarabani youth who is facing murder charges after chopping a six-year-old girl.

When asked by Chipanga what led to the incident, he said he did not know what was happening at the time.

Most of the juveniles were barefooted, while a handful wore slippers.
On the walls of one of the rooms the juveniles sleep was a message: “ Be merciful for me Lord for I cry.”

Most prisoners complained that after being granted bail, they were not being helped to contact their relatives so that they could come and bail them out.
The High Court also came under attack for not expediting cases brought before it.

Prisoners said when their cases were referred to the court, they made the necessary applications but no response came their way.

Records of cases were also said to be missing at the same court. Prior to conducting the tour, the deputy commissioner of prisons, Washington Chimboza, revealed that the Zimbabwe National Water Authority had cut water supplies to four prisons in the country.

“ We owe $30 billion to various institutions such as Zesa and Zinwa. For the past two weeks Zinwa has cut off water at Khami, Mutimurefu, Chiredzi, Wha Wha and Chikurubi is threatened,” he said.

The remand prison has 41 prisoners with some from as far as Ghana, Liberia and Somalia.

Others said they were arrested after going to the police to report that their passports had been stolen.

Some, including one refugee, said they were awaiting deportation but were surprised that they were being kept there for long periods. Chimboza also said they had transport problems that have seen them failing to take prisoners to court, thereby keeping them longer than necessary.

Prison officer Verengai Machona said Harare Remand had a holding capacity of 1 216 prisoners but had 1 253 inmates.

He said they had accommodation problems and 90 percent of their staff were living outside the camp.

He also said some of their buildings were in need of renovations but because their funds are channelled through the local government ministry, they were being told there was no money - Daily Mirror
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