Prisoners in Zimbabwe’s main remand prison are forced to use pages from the Bible as toilet paper, an opposition lawmaker said on Friday.
Opposition lawmaker Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga made the remarks following a trip she made to Harare Remand Prison with other members of a parliamentary committee.
The Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) lawmaker confirmed press reports that inmates at the notorious holding cells are forced to tear out pages from Bibles inside their cells to use as a substitute for toilet paper.
”Prisoners sometimes use blankets to clean themselves. But that’s the level of desperation. The Bible is the only thing they have,” said Misihairabwi-Mushonga, who is a member of Parliament for Harare’s low-income suburb of Glen Norah.
She said members of the parliamentary committee also found that skin diseases like scabies as well as tuberculosis are rife in the prison due to overcrowding. Sometimes 60 people are crammed into a cell built for 30 prisoners, she said.
Misihairabwi-Mushonga said more worrying to her was that the prisoners included people who came to find asylum in Zimbabwe from as far away as Liberia and Pakistan.
”People are being subjected to these conditions who have not committed any crime. They tell you, ‘I’m here because I’m a refugee.’ It’s because they don’t have their [immigration] papers, or they came looking for asylum.”
She criticised the slow pace of the courts, which was causing a backlog of cases and long waiting periods for prisoners. Press reports say there are more than a thousand prisoners being held at the prison.
Eighty per cent of the inmates at the remand prison had been held there more than eight months, some for as long as five years, Misihairabwi-Mushonga noted.
”The justice system doesn’t seem to be working anymore. Some have been in that place for five years — no trial. Some are serving their sentences before they go to trial.”
Although there had been some improvement in prison facilities, such as attempts to fix doors on toilets inside the cells, the conditions remained bleak.
MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai spent two weeks in Harare Remand Prison following his arrest in June 2003 on treason charges for calling for street demonstrations against the government. The charges have since been withdrawn.
Commuters stranded after fuel hike
Meanwhile, bus fares have more than doubled following a massive hike in fuel prices.
Scores of people were left stranded on Thursday at Harare’s busy Mbare Musika bus terminus, unable to afford the new fares, the Daily Mirror reported.
The state-controlled Herald said commuters travelling from Harare’s satellite city of Chitungwiza into the centre of the capital were being charged Z$25 000 ($1,02) up from Z$11 000 (44 US cents).
Passengers from low-income suburbs like Mbare and Glen View have also seen fares double.
On Wednesday the government hiked the prices of petrol and diesel by 130%, citing devaluations in the local currency and an international increase in oil prices.
Commentators warned the hike would have a knock-on effect on transport fares, increasing hardship for Zimbabweans already struggling to survive in an economy marked by inflation of more than 254% and high unemployment rates.
A teachers’ union warned the new fares may mean teachers cannot get to school.
”The teachers will not be able to go to work,” Raymond Majongwe, the head of the Progressive Teachers Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ) told the Daily Mirror.
Local Government Minister Ignatius Chombo condemned the fare hikes, which have not been approved by the government.
Bus operators ”should not unilaterally increase the fares. We understand the fact that fuel has gone up by over 100% but that should not translate into 100% fare increases,” Chombo told the Herald.
”Commuter omnibus operators should bring their proposals to the ministry for consideration,” he added.
The price of fuel on the flourishing black market was also reported to have doubled.
Wednesday’s hike in fuel prices followed an earlier one in June.
Zimbabwe has been facing critical shortages of fuel for several months, with most petrol stations running dry.
Only five stations across the country are allowed to sell fuel in foreign currency but reports say even these garages do not have fuel all the time.
Before the hikes, Zimbabwe’s fuel — when sold at the controlled prices — was among the cheapest in the southern African region.
Now petrol sells at Z$23 300 a litre (about 95 US cents) while diesel costs Z$20 800 (85 US cents). Sapa-dpa