MPs tell horror of Zimbabwe's prisons

MPs tell horror of Zimbabwe's prisons

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By Angus Shaw

ZIMBABWE'S prisoners face acute food shortages and are going weeks without soap or toilet paper, a panel of lawmakers reported Friday.

Malnutrition and disease are widespread in the country's overcrowded jails, which were designed for 16,000 people but hold many more, a parliamentary committee said in a report sounding the alarm about deteriorating prison conditions amid Zimbabwe's worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1980.

Prison authorities have insufficient funds to buy food, leading to the spread of malnutrition-related ailments such as pellagra, which causes skin lesions, intestinal disorders and mental disorientation.

Water and power outages are common, and sanitation facilities are in urgent need of repair at most prisons, the panel said.

Blankets go unwashed for months, and the Harare Remand Prison had its water supply cut off for failing to pay its bills. Cooking pots and other kitchen utensils at that prison were filthy and "not fit to carry food for human consumption," the report said.

Zimbabwe's economic meltdown is blamed largely on disruptions to the agriculture-based economy, linked to years of drought and the seizure of white-owned commercial farms for redistribution to blacks since 2000 under President Robert Mugabe.

Inflation has soared to 1,043 percent, the highest rate in the world. There are also acute shortages of hard currency, gasoline and other key imports. Deprived of toilet paper, some inmates have resorted to using pages ripped from Bibles to wipe themselves clean, the report said.

Prison authorities have often failed to take inmates to court for bail hearings and trial appearances because they do not have enough fuel, the lawmakers said.

Few of Zimbabwe's impoverished families can afford to post bail, leaving many accused to languish in jail while their cases drag on, the report said. Delays in the court system mean some prisoners remain in custody up to five years while their cases remain unresolved - AP
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