Prisons
Zimbabwe's prisons are death-traps
Sokwanele Article: March 30th, 2009
Zimbabwe's prisoners are suffering untold horrors in Zimbabwe's jails. The State is locking them up in hell-holes, condemning them to slow starvation and possible death from nutrition-related illnesses or the vast array of other diseases they are exposed to through unhygienic conditions. Despite terrible desperation, their position as 'prisoners' means they are denied the most basic human instinct and that is to fight for survival: inmates can't beg for food from passers-by, they can't forage for wild berries in the bush, and they can't rummage through dustbins for waste food. Because of this, Zimbabwe's prisons constitute a unique and especially cruel form of torture that has both physical and psychological impacts on the people affected. In October last year, the Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO) released a report noting that there are 55 prisons in Zimbabwe (including satellites), with the capacity to hold 17 000 inmates. But in October 2008 it was estimated that more than 35 000 people were in jail.
Zimbabwe's prisons are death-traps
Zimbabwe's prisoners are suffering untold horrors in Zimbabwe's jails. The State is locking them up in hell-holes, condemning them to slow starvation and possible death from nutrition-related illnesses or the vast array of other diseases they are exposed to through unhygienic conditions. Despite terrible desperation, their position as 'prisoners' means they are denied the most basic human instinct and that is to fight for survival: inmates can't beg for food from passers-by, they can't forage for wild berries in the bush, and they can't rummage through dustbins for waste food. Because of this, Zimbabwe's prisons constitute a unique and especially cruel form of torture that has both physical and psychological impacts on the people affected.
In October last year, the Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO) released a report noting that there are 55 prisons in Zimbabwe (including satellites), with the capacity to hold 17 000 inmates. But in October 2008 it was estimated that more than 35 000 people were in jail.
Deliberately delaying the release of all political prisoners violates the GPA
Sokwanele Article: February 23rd, 2009Focussing on clause 18.5 (j)
Sokwanele's ZIG Watch project has been documenting violations of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed between Zimbabwe's three main political parties. Through this article, Sokwanele aims to familiarise our readership with sub-clause 18.5(j), one of ten sub-clauses falling under Article XVIII of the Global Political Agreement (GPA) signed on September 15th 2008. Article XVIII of the GPA sets out to ensure the security of all Zimbabweans and to prevent future political violence.
Article XVIII, clause 18.5 (j) that while having due regard to the Constitution of Zimbabwe and the principles of the rule of law, the prosecuting authorities will expedite the determination as to whether or not there is sufficient evidence to warrant the prosecution or keeping on remand of all persons accused of politically related offences arising out of or connected with the March and June 2008 elections.
Accountability and responsibility
Clause 18.5(j) specifically targets Zimbabwe's prosecuting authorities. Under the GPA, the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs has been allocated to Zanu PF, so the political party chiefly accountable for breaches in Clause 18.5(j) is Zanu PF. The person directly answerable to the people of Zimbabwe and to SADC for any breaches of this clause is Patrick Chinamasa, the appointed Minister of Justice and Legal Affairs.
Patrick Chinamasa was also one of the principle members of Zanu PF's negotiating team in the drafting of the GPA, so he will be well-versed in both the letter and the spirit of the agreement. Very significantly, Chinamasa is also a Zanu PF representative on the Joint-Monitoring Implementation Committee (JOMIC) (Article XXII in the GPA). Under the terms agreed, members of JOMIC will monitor compliance with, and progress on, all the items agreed on within the GPA, including clause 18.5(j).
In short: Patrick Chinamasa helped draft the agreement that includes this clause; he is directly in charge of the Ministry that has the power to ensure it is complied with; and he is one of the people responsible for ensuring that all parties stick to the agreement on behalf of the people of Zimbabwe.
