A Correctional Services Officer from the CPU section tragically took his own life using an AK-47 rifle while on duty on Christmas Day.
The officer, identified as Ndhlera, died around 5:45 AM on Wednesday at the residence of Justice Chatukuta in Marlborough, Harare.
The incident was reported to the ZRP Marlborough under RRB 6264217. An internal police memo obtained by <a href="https://www.hmetro.co.zw/prison-officer-shoots-self/">H-Metro</a> provides further details about the matter:
<blockquote>
On December 25, at about 0600hrs a telephone report was received by Chief Supt Mukombachoto to the effect that on the same day about 0545hrs at Justice Chatukuta’s place of residence.
2939614G Co1 Ndhlera Agreement of CPU section took his life using an AK 47 rifle whilst he was on guard duty in the company of 2939175E co1 Dziripi E also of CPU section at Justice Chatukuta’s place of residence in Marlborough.
</blockquote>
According to the memo, Ndhlela was on guard duty in the company of Dziripi at Chatukuta’s place of residence in Marlborough, whilst they were seated in the guard room. Reads the memo:
<blockquote>
At around 0545hrs co1 Ndhlera grabbed AK rifle which was on the table in the guard room and run out of the guard room due north inside the security wall about 15 to 20m from the guard room.
He stopped and corked the AK rifle with his leg, seeing this action co1 Dziripi ran away and jump the wall to the next house taking cover.
All of sudden he heard gun shoot and Co1 Dziripi also jumped the wall from next house where he took cover going out side into Lower Hampden street.
He checked from outside what had happened to co1 Ndhlera over the wall and saw him lying on the ground under a tree.
He then advised his superiors.
</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Pindula News

A prison officer named Ndhlera took his own life on Christmas Day using a gun at a judge's house in Harare. He was on duty with another officer, Dziripi, when he grabbed the gun and shot himself. Dziripi ran away and alerted their superiors. The incident was reported to the police. Officers were shocked and saddened by the tragic event. It is important to talk to someone if feeling sad or overwhelmed instead of hurting oneself.

Prison Officer Takes Own Life At A Judge's Residence

A Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) officer, Shadreck Mlambo, who was recently reported missing, was found unconscious by police at the corner of Cripps and Seke Road on 30 August.
He was then rushed to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital, where he later died four days after admission.
The Sunday Mail reported that Mlambo was found five days after he was last seen standing at a bus stop at around 8 PM while waiting to board a bus to Chitungwiza.
He had a deep cut on the back of his head.
ZPCS spokesperson Chief Superintendent Meya Khanyezi was cited as saying Mlambo’s body is currently at Sally Mugabe Central Hospital Mortuary.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Missing Prisons Officer Found Dead

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) is appealing for information from the public regarding one of its officers Shadreck Mlambo, who has been missing since 24 August.
ZPCS said Mlambo was last seen at a bus stop, at around 8 PM, near the intersection of Seke and Cripps Road, intending to board a bus to Chitungwiza. ZPCS said in a statement:
<blockquote>
Missing is Shadreck Mlambo, a member of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS), who was last seen on 24 August 2023 around 2000hrs at a bus stop near the intersection of Seke Road and Cripps Road, intending to board a bus to Chitungwiza.
</blockquote>
 
ZPCS added that those with information pertaining to Mlambo can contact Constable Mawere at 0716 149 634, Chief Superintendent Mukombachoto at 0771 160 464, or Jonas Kasimu at 0776 055 885.
Alternatively, they can also contact ZPCS Public Relations Complaints desk at +263 242 762724, 0714 239 142, WhatsApp at 0771 160 464, and 0778 605 526.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

Prisons Officer Goes Missing

President-elect Emmerson Mnangagwa has warned the opposition against fomenting chaos in the country following a disputed election, saying “Our prisons are not full”, reported <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200016084/ed-threatens-to-jail-chaotic-ccc-supporters">NewsDay</a>.
Addressing scores of delegates and party supporters at the commissioning of the Sabi Star Lithium Floatation Plant in Buhera on Thursday, 31 August, Mnangagwa said:
<blockquote>
We will not stop our development plans and programmes because of the noise from some little boys. They will continue making noise, but we shall continue to move on.
… But I warn anybody who may want to be nonsensical and bring chaos in this country, we are ready to deal with any chaos.
Whoever will preach hate speech shall be responsible for their hate speech. Our prisons are not full. We want peace, we want unity.
</blockquote>
Responding to Mnangagwa’s warning, CCC spokesperson Promise Mkwananzi said the President-elect is unfit to govern. He said:
<blockquote>
We are considering approaching the Constitutional Court in respect of these utterances.
As a de facto President, Mr. Mnangagwa is compelled by the constitution to uphold peace, protect the constituency and any failure to do so may warrant an impeachment.
In addition to the fact that he lost the elections, Mr. Mnangagwa’s utterances show that he is unfit to govern.
</blockquote>
Mnangagwa garnered 52.6% of the vote against CCC presidential candidate Nelson Chamisa’s 44%, but the latter has rejected the results alleging rigging.
Meanwhile, Mnangagwa will be sworn in as Zimbabwe’s leader for a second and final term on 04 September.
A circular issued by Foreign Affairs and International Trade permanent secretary, James Manzou dated August 31, 2023, and addressed to Heads of Missions, indicates that Mnangagwa has already sent out invitations to world leaders to attend the event.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula </a>

"Our Prisons Are Not Full", Mnangagwa Warns Violence Instigators

President Emmerson Mnangagwa has ordered the release of 4 279 prisoners under the latest Presidential Amnesty.
According to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS), a total of 4 166 men and 104 women will be released from the country’s 47 main prisons and eight satellite prisons.
In a statement released on Thursday, ZPCS spokesperson Meya Khanyezi said:
<blockquote>
These inmates were being rehabilitated and have been serving for the offences they committed against the state therefore, those aggrieved are encouraged to forgive them for their successful reintegration into society.
</blockquote>
According to a Statutory Instrument of an Extraordinary Government Gazette published last Friday by the Ministry of Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs, those who have been pardoned include terminally ill female prisoners and juveniles who are not serving specified offences.
Those to be released would have served one-third of their sentences by 18 April 2023 while those who remain in prison are convicts serving time for violence-related offences.
Khanyezi urged communities to forgive and embrace the inmates that have been given amnesty.<a href="https://www.chronicle.co.zw/over-4-000-prisoners-set-for-release/"> She said</a>:
<blockquote>
We would like to appeal to the close family members, stakeholders, and the society at large to embrace and accept inmates who have been released on amnesty.
Successful reintegration of inmates back into society is not the sole mandate of ZPCS alone but it requires combined efforts from all citizens of Zimbabwe.
These inmates were being rehabilitated and have been serving for the offenses they committed against the state, therefore, those aggrieved are encouraged to forgive them for their successful reintegration into society.
</blockquote>
<h2>The number of inmates to be released per province:</h2>
Bulawayo Metropolitan – 688 (680 males and 8 females)
Matabeleland North – 231 (230 males and 1 female)
Matabeleland South – 129 (127 males and 2 females)
Harare – 790 (770 males and 20 females)
Midlands – 537 (527 males and 10 females)
Mashonaland East – 397 (358 males and 39 females)
Mashonaland West – 340 (333 males and 7 females)
Mashonaland Central – 206 (204 males and 2 females)
Masvingo – 398 (392 males and 6 females)
Midlands – 537 (527 males and 10 females)
Zimbabwe’s prisons have a carrying capacity of 17 000 inmates but were holding more than 22 000.
More: <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">Pindula News</a>

President Mnangagwa Grants Amnesty To Over 4 000 Prisoners

A High Court judge has ordered the reinstatement of a prison officer after establishing that she was unfairly dismissed from service in 2019.
Rhoda Mawadze was the Rations officer-in-charge between August and December 2018 when some food items meant for prisoners went missing, <a href="https://www.zimlive.com/judge-orders-reinstatement-of-prisons-officer-sacked-over-missing-food-rations/">reported ZimLive.</a>
Mawadze was brought before a disciplinary committee chaired by Prisons Chief Superintendent Tawanda Chimika, which found her guilty of misappropriating inmates’ food stocks before recommending her dismissal.
She was unhappy with her dismissal and appealed through the High Court.
During the High Court hearing, it became clear that the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) accounting processes were in a bad state.
It was also established that responsibilities were haphazardly distributed among different members, making it wrong to blame a single individual for the mess.
Mawadze’s appeal was presided over by Justice Catherine Bachi-Muzawazi. The judge noted:
<blockquote>
… there was a glaring revelation of shortfalls, loopholes and weaknesses in their bookkeeping, handover procedures, security, and unrestricted access to food stores were a clear illustration of maladministration or administration in-efficacy and inefficiency.
</blockquote>
Justice Bachi-Muzawazi ruled that Mawadze was made a sacrificial lamb and ordered that she be reinstated without loss of salary from the time she was fired in 2019. Said the judge:
<blockquote>
She (Mawadze) then became the target and victim of a report she had initiated.
Even the handover-takeover procedures were not observed from the time the applicant assumed the rations post to the time the offences were laid against her.
They should have taken the flaws that were highlighted in evidence as a learning curve and a chance to re-evaluate and improve the inefficiencies in the system instead of taking a defensive strategy of penalising the small fish who brought the whole inefficiencies and saga to light.
…The court found the administrative decision grossly irregular and accordingly, dismissed the point in limine and upheld the applicant’s claim in terms of the draft order sought.
Resultantly, it is ordered that the decision handed down by the first respondent on 12 May 2019 be and is hereby quashed and set aside.
The applicant be and is hereby immediately reinstated to her employment without loss of salary.
</blockquote>
Prisons Chief Superintendent Tawanda Chimika, Commissioner General ZPCS Moses Chihobvu and Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Minister Kazembe Kazembe were cited as respondents.

High Court Orders Reinstatement Of Prisons Officer Fired Over Missing Food Rations

Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi on Thursday barred CCC president Nelson Chamisa from meeting jailed MPs Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole and the other party activists from the Nyatsime area who are currently detained at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
Chamisa visited the prison on Thursday morning and was made to wait for three hours before he was informed by prison authorities that he could not see his colleagues.
Speaking to reporters, Chamisa said prison authorities said they had received instructions from Ziyambi to bar him from seeing Sikhala and the other CCC activists. Said Chamisa:
It’s so disheartening to know that just after we had been made to wait for three hours, we were then told that we can now enter to be able to see our colleagues.
<blockquote>
We were then invited to the office of the Officer in Charge of prisons Mr. Hukurume. He indicated to us that it is unfortunate that we are not able to see Honourable Job Sikhala and the other Nyatsime colleagues, our citizen heroes because the Minister of Justice has instructed that we can’t see them.
We were surprised because they had made us wait for almost two, three hours. You can bear witness and testimony to that.
But all of a sudden they said they had received an instruction that you cannot see all your colleagues. So we are not able to see them.
It is an embarrassment, it is harassment, and it is unacceptable that we have this kind of abuse of the law.
</blockquote>
Last week, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPSC) said Chamisa was free to visit his colleagues at Chikurubi, and today’s events came as a surprise to the opposition leader.
MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora was recently given permission by ZPCS to visit Sikhala and Sithole but the duo allegedly refused to meet him.
Sikhala, Sithole, and the other 14 CCC activists from Nyatsime have been in pre-trial detention since June on charges ranging from inciting violence to public violence.

Ziyambi Blocks Chamisa From Meeting Job Sikhala At Chikurubi Prison

Eighty-four (84) Malawian immigrants are languishing in Zimbabwean prisons after they were arrested for travelling without requisite documents.
It is believed that the majority of the immigrants had no intention of staying in Zimbabwe but were travelling to South Africa.
Malawi’s deputy ambassador to Zimbabwe Elias Mpaso confirmed that scores of Malawians are detained in Zimbabwean prisons saying the embassy was making efforts to repatriate them. He said:
<blockquote>
Last Friday we had 84 Malawian nationals in Zimbabwean jails. There are 66 males at Harare Remand Prison and 18 females at Chikurubi. These people were arrested in different parts of Zimbabwe.
However, the government is trying its best to repatriate them, we are still waiting for the Foreign Affairs Department to officially inform us. We are also sourcing funds from Malawi for their repatriation.
In Malawi, the repatriation process is done in collaboration with the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Food Disaster Management to take our citizens back to Malawi.
</blockquote>
Zimbabwe does not have holding facilities for immigrants awaiting deportation and as a result, border jumpers are imprisoned.
The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission (ZHRC) said it is a violation of the immigrants’ human rights to put them in prisons together with convicted criminals. | <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/local-news/article/200002578/84-malawian-migrants-languish-in-zim-prisons">NewsDay</a>

84 Malawian Border Jumpers Languish In Zim Prisons

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) says CCC leader Nelson Chamisa is free to visit party activists and legislators Job Sikhala and Godfrey Sithole who have been in pre-trial detention since June.
Through his lawyers, Shava Law Chambers, Chamisa had earlier given ZPCS Commissioner General, Moses Chihobvu, a 24-hour ultimatum to explain why he had been denied permission to visit the CCC activists who were arrested and detained for allegedly inciting public violence in Nyatsime in June.
In a letter directed to Chamisa’s lawyers, ZPCS said Chamisa is free to visit the MPs and CCC activists but with some restrictions. ZPCS said:
<blockquote>
Please be advised that authority has been granted for your client Mr Nelson Chamisa to visit members of his political party incarcerated in our prisons.
The approval for your client Mr Nelson Chamisa was given with some restrictions. He is required to notify the officer in charge of his intended visit in advance and the specific times.
He shall not chant slogans anywhere near the prisons and is forbidden from addressing any persons anywhere near the prisons.
… You may liaise with the respective officers in charge who may place further restrictions in the interests of good order and security.
Further, a prisoner shall not be visited by more than three visitors at one visit and the visit shall not last longer than thirty minutes.
</blockquote>
Before ZPCS’s response, Chamisa had been barred from visiting Sithole and Sikhala and the Nyatsime 14 but MDC-T leader Douglas Mwonzora was recently given access to see them.
Sikhala and Sithole, however, refused to meet Mwonzora, according to a spokesperson, Freddy Michael Masarirevu. | <a href="https://www.newzimbabwe.com/prisons-boss-gives-in-to-chamisas-demands-for-sikhala-visit-sets-stringent-conditions-no-chanting-of-slogans-public-addresses/">NewZimbabwe.com</a>

Prisons Boss Accedes To Chamisa’s Demands For Sikhala Visit

One hundred and sixteen (116) inmates escaped from prisons between January 2021 and October this year, the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) has said.
ZPCS national public relations officer, Chief Superintendent Meya Khanyezi, said most of the escapees were B-class inmates.
She said most fugitives will sneak away after asking for permission to relieve themselves when they will be outside for work duties while serving their terms at medium-security prisons.
Khanyezi also revealed that Harare Central and Chikurubi Farm prisons had high incidences of prison escapes. She said:
<blockquote>
In 2021, 64 inmates escaped from our prisons, and 52 inmates in 2022 to date, making a total of 116.
Harare Central and Chikurubi Farm prisons have a high incidence of escapes since these stations have more B-class inmates, who go out of prison to work.
Police, however, recaptured 40 escapees during the same period. After escaping, 40 inmates were recaptured — 18 in 2021 and 22 in 2022.
</blockquote>
To prevent future escapes, ZPCS is installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems at maximum prisons and arming its officers and increasing the number of dogs used by prison officers. | <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/116-escape-from-prison">The Sunday Mail</a>

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