An undercover television exposé carried horrific photographs of emaciated inmates, reminiscent of World War II concentration camps. Six years on, conditions are still dreadful. A jail sentence often means death, either during incarceration or after release, as communicable diseases are rife.
While the president’s party organising committee looted cattle meant to feed prisoners – beasts bought and paid for by the taxpayers – there have been reports that the ZPS struggles to provide one meal a day, despite several acres of arable land being available to the correctional system. In 2013, over 100 prisoners died as a result of malnutrition.
In September 2014, the Commissioner General of ZPS, Paradzai Zimondi, in a partisan speech riddled with ‘ZimAsset’ references, undertook to weed out corruption and increase food production on prison farms. Clearly nothing has materialised.
Till next week, my pen is capped. Jerà Twitter @JeraZW
Post published in: News