Zimbabwe prisoners sleeping on empty stomachs

Zimbabwe's prisons are grappling with a worsening humanitarian crisis, with inmates reportedly suffering from malnutrition and pneumonia due to overcrowding, poor diets, and a critical shortage of blankets and warm clothing, Parliament has heard.

During a Question-and-Answer session last Wednesday, Mashonaland East Proportional Representation MP Lilian Zemura raised the alarm over the dire conditions behind bars, telling Speaker Jacob Mudenda that prisoners are being forced to sleep on cold floors without adequate bedding, leaving many vulnerable to pneumonia, especially during the harsh winter months.

Zemura said prisoners survive on one meal a day, typically boiled cabbage and sadza, and lack basic necessities such as warm clothes and blankets.

"Is it government policy for people who are in jails to sleep without warm clothes and blankets, without eating, especially during this winter period?" Zemura queried.

"Has it become the norm in Zimbabwe that those who are in jails, whether sentenced or not, suffer from pneumonia as a result of catching a cold? They sleep on dry, cold floors without blankets and mattresses."

Speaker Mudenda briefly reprimanded Zemura for her use of colloquial language but advised her to submit a written question specifying the prisons affected so that the matter could be addressed more formally.

Responding to the concerns, Acting Leader of Government Business in Parliament, Anxious Masuka, acknowledged that while government policy ensures inmates are provided with basic necessities such as food, shelter, and clothing, economic challenges have affected service delivery.

"Government, in its plans, takes those who have been incarcerated for rehabilitation so that they can be reintegrated into society. During the process, the government provides the basics like food, shelter, and clothing," said Masuka.

"However, when there are challenges, I request that if there is a specific jail, then that communication should be brought forward so that we will be able to address it properly."

Pressed further, Speaker Mudenda urged Zemura to identify specific prisons lacking blankets and food, but Zemura responded: "All jails."

Recent findings by the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs corroborate Zemura's claims. The committee noted that most prisons lack adequate blankets and sufficient food. At Chikurubi Maximum Prison, inmates revealed they rely on donations from families, churches, and well-wishers for bedding, while many prisoners wear tattered prison uniforms.

The overcrowded facilities and lack of basic necessities have left inmates vulnerable to illness, malnutrition, and deteriorating mental health, prompting renewed calls for urgent government intervention to uphold prisoners' basic human rights.