7,000 remand prisoners held illegally - magistrate

MATABELELAND North’s top magistrate today paints a grim picture of Zimbabwe’s justice system, revealing: “Once someone is remanded in custody, they are just as good as forgotten because their chances of being brought back to court are nil.”

The shock revelations by John Masimba, the provincial magistrate for Matabeleland North, is a damning indictment on the Justice Ministry.

While delays in bringing high profile political prisoners to court have drawn media attention, Masimba said in an interview that some 7,000 suspects in criminal cases in Bulawayo and Matabeleland alone are probably being held illegally in remand prison after prison authorities failed to bring them to court.

Zimbabwe’s Prison Service has not been spared by the country’s economic collapse. Authorities have been battling fuel and transport problems among a myriad of operational difficulties.

Today, Masimba says the new power sharing government of President Robert Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai must restore order in the justice system.

“The failure by prison authorities to bring remand prisoners to court remains our biggest challenge. The backlog in criminal cases keeps on growing because nothing is being done as far as trials are concerned. It is our hope that the Ministry will prioritise transport if the justice delivery system is to be more effective,” Masimba said.

The magistrate said some suspects have been in remand prison for up to TWO YEARS and judges were now having to remand prisoners in absentia. In cases, the magistrate said, suspects would long have died in prison.
“Nothing is moving,” Masimba said, “and we wish these issues could be addressed expeditiously.”

Masimba revealed there was only ONE prison truck servicing the three Matabeleland regions of Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South. That truck broke down last year and was taken to Harare for repairs. To date, it has not been returned.

Conditions in Zimbabwe’s jails are some of the harshest in the world. Food shortages are common. Last year, hundreds of inmates had to be released on health grounds. Most were suffering from pellagra, a protein deficiency disease. Those were the lucky ones as thousands die every year behind bars.