News / National
Zimbabwe law allows jailed mothers can stay with children
31 Jul 2024 at 10:52hrs | Views
Attorney-General Virginia Mabiza clarified that Zimbabwean law permits incarcerated mothers to keep their infants with them in prison. This statement came in response to an image circulated on X (formerly Twitter) and other social media platforms, depicting a woman with a child on her back at a Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services facility.
The woman in the image was arrested last month when police raided a meeting of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters at the home of senior party official Jameson Timba in Avondale, Harare. The CCC activists remain in remand prison after repeated denials of bail by the magistrates' court, with only Timba's son having been released into his parents' custody.
Mabiza emphasized that the Prisons and Correctional Service Act [Chapter 7:23] provides three options for addressing the status of children accompanying their incarcerated mothers, including the option for the mother to keep her infant in jail. "Section 71 of the Act expressly stipulates that a female inmate may be admitted into a prison or correctional facility for custody with her infant. Such an infant shall be supplied with food, clothing, and other necessities by the State," she said in a statement.
The Act specifies that:
"An infant may accompany their mother and reside with her in the prison or correctional facility until the infant reaches the age of 36 months, and up to 59 months.
"An infant may be placed in the care of relatives who are willing and able to support the child.
"If the mother has no relatives or friends able to care for the child, the infant may be placed in the care of welfare authorities, subject to relevant laws."
Mabiza noted that female inmates accompanied by infants are informed of these options before incarceration. Many inmates choose to stay with their infants either because they are breastfeeding or because they have no relatives available to care for their children while they are in prison. Special treatment is accorded to children of incarcerated mothers, including a specific dietary scale for children up to the age of 54 months, according to Mabiza.
The woman in the image was arrested last month when police raided a meeting of Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) supporters at the home of senior party official Jameson Timba in Avondale, Harare. The CCC activists remain in remand prison after repeated denials of bail by the magistrates' court, with only Timba's son having been released into his parents' custody.
Mabiza emphasized that the Prisons and Correctional Service Act [Chapter 7:23] provides three options for addressing the status of children accompanying their incarcerated mothers, including the option for the mother to keep her infant in jail. "Section 71 of the Act expressly stipulates that a female inmate may be admitted into a prison or correctional facility for custody with her infant. Such an infant shall be supplied with food, clothing, and other necessities by the State," she said in a statement.
The Act specifies that:
"An infant may accompany their mother and reside with her in the prison or correctional facility until the infant reaches the age of 36 months, and up to 59 months.
"An infant may be placed in the care of relatives who are willing and able to support the child.
"If the mother has no relatives or friends able to care for the child, the infant may be placed in the care of welfare authorities, subject to relevant laws."
Mabiza noted that female inmates accompanied by infants are informed of these options before incarceration. Many inmates choose to stay with their infants either because they are breastfeeding or because they have no relatives available to care for their children while they are in prison. Special treatment is accorded to children of incarcerated mothers, including a specific dietary scale for children up to the age of 54 months, according to Mabiza.
Source - newsday
