LISTENING to journalist Blessed Mhlanga speak passionately about the appalling state of Harare Central Police Station and Harare Remand Prison, one cannot help but feel a deep sense of national shame.
His chilling account of bed bug infestation in both Harare Central and Harare Remand Prison brings to light a disturbing and long-standing issue: The inhumane conditions in Zimbabwe’s prison system. The matter is not new. A few years ago, then MP Temba Mliswa also raised concern about similar infestation at Matapi Police Station in Mbare, Harare. This situation paints a grim picture that can no longer be ignored.
We are now 45 years into independence. Zimbabwe is a country rich in human and natural resources. We have successful businesspeople, influential executives and individuals of wealth and status, yet our prisons, which house not only criminals but sometimes political detainees, remand prisoners and the wrongly accused, remain neglected.
The continued presence of bed bugs in these institutions is a metaphor for how deeply the rot has set in. It is a sign of a failing system that cannot even provide basic cleanliness and dignity to those in its care.
The same infestation that has plagued prisons has spread to communities like the Mbare flats. The broadcast from Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation highlights how residents of Mbare are also fighting a losing battle against swarming bed bugs, despite every effort to clean up. If we can mobilise resources to disinfect and fumigate Mbare hostels, surely, we can do the same for our detention centres. After all, prisoners are human beings. They are citizens of this country, and many have not even been convicted; they are simply waiting for their day in court.
One cannot ignore the irony that some of those suffering in these dreadful conditions are the very people who helped to build Zimbabwe’s economic engine, business owners and executives, often caught in legal disputes or unfortunate circumstances. But whether poor or wealthy, guilty or innocent, every detainee deserves to be treated with dignity. That is what a just and civilised society does.
Zimbabwe must now take a stand. It is time to modernise our prison infrastructure and improve hygiene standards. Prison reforms must include pest control, clean bedding, medical care, and regular inspection by independent bodies. Our justice system cannot continue to rely on facilities that are worse than cages, which dates back to colonial days, built for black Africans, who were classified as Africans. These are not just buildings for punishment, they are part of a justice process meant to rehabilitate and correct.
Let us remember, the wheel of fate turns unpredictably. Anyone, even those in power today, could one day find themselves on the wrong side of the law. When that day comes, they too will hope to be treated not like animals, but like human beings.
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The time to act is now. Treating our prisoners with respect is not a luxury; it is a measure of our humanity.
It could be you in Harare Remand Prison. - Engineer Jacob Kudzayi Mutisi
