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Zimbabwe pregnant prisoners to access private maternal healthcare
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The High Court has issued a landmark ruling directing prison authorities to allow pregnant inmates to access maternal health care services of their choice, ending the practice of forcing them to use government hospitals against their will.
Justice Neville Wamambo handed down the ruling last week following an urgent application by Melissa Messe Chiyangwa, a pregnant inmate at Chikurubi Female Prison, who was denied access to her private gynaecologist despite her pregnancy being classified as high-risk.
Chiyangwa, who has been detained since June 23 on theft charges, challenged the inadequate maternal health care facilities at Chikurubi prison and the refusal of authorities to allow her to attend appointments with her private doctor.
Her lawyers, Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and Kelvin Kabaya from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), revealed that Chiyangwa missed a scheduled visit on June 26 after prison officials blocked her from seeing her private gynaecologist, instead directing her to Parirenyatwa Hospital - a facility known for inadequate maternal services.
"The applicant's next visit to her gynaecologist was scheduled for 26 June 2025, an appointment which she missed because the first respondent, second respondent, and third respondent could not allow her access to her private doctor," the lawyers stated.
The respondents in the case include the officer in charge of Chikurubi Female Prison, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) commissioner general, the sister in charge at Chikurubi Female Prison, and the ministers of Justice and Legal Affairs, as well as Health and Child Care.
According to the legal team, Chiyangwa was eventually taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital on July 29, where she was attended to by medical personnel unfamiliar with her patient history. The attending doctor expressed concerns about potential excessive amniotic fluid and requested a scan - but the hospital's scanning machines were reportedly non-functional.
The lawyers argued that such conditions violate Chiyangwa's constitutional rights to health, dignity, and life. They cited Section 50(5)(c)(v) of the Zimbabwean Constitution, which guarantees detained persons the right to communicate and be visited by their medical practitioners, and Section 76(1), which ensures access to basic healthcare, including reproductive services.
"Furthermore, the respondents, as agents of the state, are obliged under Section 50(5)(d) of the Constitution to ensure detention conditions are compatible with human dignity and that adequate medical facilities are provided," the lawyers submitted.
In his ruling on August 6, Justice Wamambo ordered prison authorities to permit Chiyangwa to visit private medical facilities of her choice to receive care and access medical equipment, provided this is done under reasonable security conditions and with advance notice to prison officials.
"The first, second and third respondents be and hereby ordered to allow the applicant to visit private medical facilities of her choice to receive medical attention and to access medical equipment upon reasonable notice to prison authorities under prison guard and subject to reasonable security conditions for the proper administration of justice," the judgment reads in part.
The ruling further directs that Chiyangwa be allowed, at her own expense, to be admitted and deliver her baby at a private institution of her choice while under prison guard and subject to security protocols.
Reports indicate that prison health care remains a severely neglected public health issue in Zimbabwe. Parliamentary visits to correctional facilities have uncovered widespread challenges including overcrowding, shortages of essential medicines, inadequate food and nutrition, insufficient blankets and clothing, and lack of transport for inmates.
This ruling marks a significant step toward upholding the health rights and dignity of pregnant prisoners and calls attention to the urgent need to improve maternal health services within Zimbabwe's correctional system.
Justice Neville Wamambo handed down the ruling last week following an urgent application by Melissa Messe Chiyangwa, a pregnant inmate at Chikurubi Female Prison, who was denied access to her private gynaecologist despite her pregnancy being classified as high-risk.
Chiyangwa, who has been detained since June 23 on theft charges, challenged the inadequate maternal health care facilities at Chikurubi prison and the refusal of authorities to allow her to attend appointments with her private doctor.
Her lawyers, Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and Kelvin Kabaya from Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), revealed that Chiyangwa missed a scheduled visit on June 26 after prison officials blocked her from seeing her private gynaecologist, instead directing her to Parirenyatwa Hospital - a facility known for inadequate maternal services.
"The applicant's next visit to her gynaecologist was scheduled for 26 June 2025, an appointment which she missed because the first respondent, second respondent, and third respondent could not allow her access to her private doctor," the lawyers stated.
The respondents in the case include the officer in charge of Chikurubi Female Prison, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) commissioner general, the sister in charge at Chikurubi Female Prison, and the ministers of Justice and Legal Affairs, as well as Health and Child Care.
According to the legal team, Chiyangwa was eventually taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital on July 29, where she was attended to by medical personnel unfamiliar with her patient history. The attending doctor expressed concerns about potential excessive amniotic fluid and requested a scan - but the hospital's scanning machines were reportedly non-functional.
The lawyers argued that such conditions violate Chiyangwa's constitutional rights to health, dignity, and life. They cited Section 50(5)(c)(v) of the Zimbabwean Constitution, which guarantees detained persons the right to communicate and be visited by their medical practitioners, and Section 76(1), which ensures access to basic healthcare, including reproductive services.
"Furthermore, the respondents, as agents of the state, are obliged under Section 50(5)(d) of the Constitution to ensure detention conditions are compatible with human dignity and that adequate medical facilities are provided," the lawyers submitted.
In his ruling on August 6, Justice Wamambo ordered prison authorities to permit Chiyangwa to visit private medical facilities of her choice to receive care and access medical equipment, provided this is done under reasonable security conditions and with advance notice to prison officials.
"The first, second and third respondents be and hereby ordered to allow the applicant to visit private medical facilities of her choice to receive medical attention and to access medical equipment upon reasonable notice to prison authorities under prison guard and subject to reasonable security conditions for the proper administration of justice," the judgment reads in part.
The ruling further directs that Chiyangwa be allowed, at her own expense, to be admitted and deliver her baby at a private institution of her choice while under prison guard and subject to security protocols.
Reports indicate that prison health care remains a severely neglected public health issue in Zimbabwe. Parliamentary visits to correctional facilities have uncovered widespread challenges including overcrowding, shortages of essential medicines, inadequate food and nutrition, insufficient blankets and clothing, and lack of transport for inmates.
This ruling marks a significant step toward upholding the health rights and dignity of pregnant prisoners and calls attention to the urgent need to improve maternal health services within Zimbabwe's correctional system.
Source - The Standard
