|
Back to Index
This article participates on the following special index pages:
Violence, recrimination and arrests after policeman's death in Glen View - Index of articles
Court orders state to investigate torture of MDC activists in prison
Movement
for Democratic Change (MDC)
January
20, 2012
The State has been ordered to urgently investigate the inhumane
and degrading conditions that the eight MDC activists who are in
remand prison facing false
charges murdering a police officer are living under at the Harare
Remand and Chikurubi Maximum prisons.
The order was
made today at the Harare Magistrates' Courts where the activists
were appearing for their routine remand together with 20 other activists
who are out on bail after their lawyer, Charles Kwaramba successfully
petitioned the court.
Kwaramba said
Councillor Tungamirai Madzokere of Ward 32, Glen View was in December
last year severely assaulted by a prison guard only identified as
Dune and needed urgent prison medical attention but to date nothing
has been done in violation of the Prison Act.
During the assault,
prison guard Dune threw Councillor Madzokere three times against
the wall exacerbating injuries to his right hand which the police
broke during his arrest in May last year.
The lawyer said
in such circumstances of cruelty against inmates, the Prison Act
spells out a conciliatory agreement over the assault which could
be reached between the two concerned parties but nothing was done,
forcing Councillor Madzokere to seek the help of the Officer in
Charge of Harare Prison. The Officer-in-Charge also failed to assist.
"The reason
why Councillor Madzokere was battered by Dune was because he was
not willing to remove his prison garb and hand it to another inmate
on remand for him to attend court. The councillor suffers from a
rare skin infection and cannot share his clothing with anyone,"
said Kwaramba.
The councillor
needs constant medical attention from this skin infection and the
recent injuries but is failing to receive any since he was arrested
in May last year.
Two other female
activists are in remand prison; Rebecca Mafikeni and Yvonne Musarurwa
are incarcerated in solitary confinement at the men's section
at Chikurubi Maximum Prison.
"Since
9 January this year, their tiny cells have raw sewage flowing through
and the two are ordered to clean it using bare hands. I don't
know why they are being held at the men's section of the prison
when there is a women's wing but from what I have heard from
the two, the prison officials are claiming that they are facing
political charges but we know that their charges are not political
but murder," said Kwaramba.
He said the
two were only allowed to go out of their cells for only 20 minutes
a day.
"During
these 20 minutes they have to do exercises, wash their clothes and
bath. They are being treated like hardcore convicted criminals yet
they are not, as they are yet to stand trial," said Kwaramba.
Another activist,
Stanford Mangwiro who is at the Harare Remand Prison has had a toothache
since his arrest in May but is failing to get access to medical
treatment or to have the tooth removed because the prison authorities
are not co-operating.
"Most
of the inmates are suffering from various ailments but cannot complain
to the prison officials as they see those with serious conditions
not being attended to," said Kwaramba.
After filing
of the complaints by Kwaramba, the magistrate immediately ordered
the State to investigate the claims.
The matter was
postponed to 10 February.
Among those
in remand prison are; Solomon Madzore, the MDC Youth Assembly chairperson,
brothers Lazarus and Stanford Maengahama as well as Phineas Nhatarikwa.
Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.
TOP
|
