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Arrest and detention in Zimbabwe - Diary of the events from February 23 - April 12, 2002
Hans Christen

Sunday 3^rd March 2002
We woke up to find the sick prisoner gasping and convulsing. After watching him helplessly for about 30 minutes he gave a last gasp and died in front of our eyes. I now wished that I had not refused him a cigarette on Friday. The guards were alerted; one came into the cell, looked at the body and said, "Let him rest." We were then divided into two groups and placed in the other two remand cells pending the removal of the corpse. Later when we were out in the dusty enclosure digesting our lunch a Prisons truck finally came to take the corpse away. When we went back to the cell, one of the prisoners sprinkled water on the ground where the dead man had lain and wiped it up with a blanket. Thereafter, the space was taken up by another prisoner who had graduated from the cell’s "Mbare" section. After breakfast – no bread today, just tea – we were all assembled in the remand enclosure for "Warrant Check". Each prisoner’s name was called out and he had to answer with his prison number and his next court date. My reply was, "Number 487/02, court date 14^th March, Sir". Each prisoner’s response was checked against the Prison’s record card for that particular individual. I had my first prison rice meal – floor sweepings, but better than sadza. It’s not easy, though, eating rice with your fingers. I was looking forward to seeing Jenny again on the Monday morning, and perhaps getting some news about the progress of the High Court bail application.

Monday 4^th March 2002
After breakfast and my visit to the dispensary, I was summoned as my GP, Dr George Turner, and the Borradaile Hospital Matron, Mrs Leslie Ward had come to see me. They waited for Jenny to arrive; otherwise my weekly visitation would have come and gone without her. When Jenny arrived, she and George were able to speak to me for 15 minutes. This was now my verbal contact with the outside world over for the week! There was some news regarding the High Court – the earliest release date would be Tuesday, and the latest release date was to be Friday. The rest of the day passed uneventfully. The next novel, "Birds of Prey" by Wilbur Smith was still being censored and I was running out of reading material – trying to make the first novel last as long as possible. A psychiatric patient arrived and was assigned to cell 1.

Tuesday 5^th March 2002
By now our group of accused had been split up into different cells. Bornface and Christopher had been placed in cell 1 after Sunday’s warrant check. They informed me at breakfast that nobody in cell 1 had been able to sleep as the psychiatric patient had walked up and down the cell all night, shouting and singing.

I was able to get a closer look at him for the first time. He wore nothing but rags, and relieved himself wherever he saw fit. He had walked into the shower, fully clothed in his rags and afterwards lay down on the dusty earth. He was filthy. Rumour had it that he had polished off seven plates of sadza. He made a beeline for me and demanded cigarettes. My fellow accused chased him away. He received the same hostile treatment from all the other prisoners. Eventually some of the inmates locked him back into the cell so they could have some peace and quiet during their brief time outdoors.

Jenny arrived with the other accused’s wives, as usual. We were given our food, but no communication was permitted. When I returned to the remand enclosure I was greeted by the sight of all the remand prisoners gathered together and listening to the weekly Church service, delivered by two visiting pastors. Throughout the service the psychiatric patient chanted and shouted, but there was little the guards could do to keep him quiet. He refused to squat, as ordered by the guards, and wandered around at will. Apart from this highlight, nothing out of the ordinary happened. Later, in the cells, the inmates played cards - made from the cardboard of cigarette boxes, (considering how few prisoners have access to cigarette boxes, I hate to think how long it must have taken to fashion a full set of cards) and board games - with the board drawn on the inside of a prisoner’s shirt. There are 2 dice in the cell, which have to be carefully hidden away lest the guards should discover them. All these offences are punishable by a beating.

Wednesday 6^th March 2002
Jenny visited to hand over food as usual. The day in prison was uneventful. Andrew Mugandiwa, the lawyer from Winterton’s, arrived in Marondera to photocopy the Magistrate’s notes. Jenny was worried about the possibility of the Court’s photocopying machine being out of order! Andrew then raced back to Harare to give one copy of the notes to the Attorney General’s office and another copy to the High Court Judge on Thursday. The inmates of cell 1 had had enough of the psychiatric patient so he was transferred to cell 7 where he alternately harassed me and banged on the steel door till the guards arrived. He pointed at me and complained to the guards, "That statue isn’t giving me any cigarettes!" With that the guards took him away, back to cell 1, much to everyone’s relief.

Thursday 7^th March 2002
Another uneventful day! We were supposed to have a body search, but for some reason it was postponed. I was told that it was not a particularly pleasant experience. All the cell inmates have to strip naked and line up facing the wall. The guards then check for any objects which may be hidden in their buttocks. Instead we had a blanket and water bottle inspection. We all lined up outside – in the squatting position – with a blanket on each arm and one over the shoulder. The guards wanted to ensure that everyone had no more than three blankets. All water bottles were confiscated by the convicts who were assigned to the task under the watchful eyes of the guards. When we went back to the cell, my water bottle had anonymously been returned to me! I found it waiting for me where I usually sat. We wondered whether we would be released tomorrow or whether we would have to spend another weekend in prison before we had a decision from the High Court.

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