"Prison Conditions Are Very Bad," Says CCC MP Godfrey Sithole

Chitungwiza North MP, Godfrey Sithole (CCC), considers himself lucky not to have been infected with various diseases at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison owing to poor living conditions.

In an exclusive interview with The Standard, Sithole said the conditions at Chikurubi are inhumane. He said:

If you see that the conditions of the whole country generally are very bad, just imagine what it means for Chikurubi, it’s bound to be worse.

The food is pathetic, prisoners get food that is not nutritious, and the vegetables that we were given had no cooking oil, no salt, and other basic ingredients that ensure people have a healthy and balanced diet.

At Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, they do not have enough blankets, it’s a crisis and people are just congested.

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You can have 40 people in a cell designed for 15 people at Chikurubi; their disaster preparedness programme is in shambles.

As you are aware, last year a prominent prisoner Martin Gumbura died of COVID-19 at Chikurubi.

Sithole was arrested on 14 June 2022 in connection with the violence that took place in Nyatsime at the funeral of slain CCC activist Moreblessing Ali and he spent 149 days in pre-trial detention.

He was charged with incitement to public violence alongside fellow MP Job Sikhala and 14 other Nyatsime residents who are still in remand prison despite several attempts to apply for bail.

However, a local ZANU PF councillor, Masimbi Masimbi, who allegedly incited violence in Nyatsime, has not been arrested and the Ali family has demanded that he should be prosecuted.