Women pls be careful: Zimbabwe to open prisons for mothers

The Zimbabwean government is working
on setting up an open prison to
accommodate female prisoners with
minors, a senior government official said
on Thursday.
Deputy Justice Minister, Fortune Chasi,
told a parliamentary committee that
progress on establishment of the open
prison in Marondera, about 70
kilometres east of Harare was, however,
been hampered by shortage of
resources.
"The issue of children in prisons is a
matter that is of critical concern to us in
the ministry in that it saddens us to see
young children in prison who have not
committed any crime," Chasi said.
He said the move would not only de-
congest prisons but also ensure proper
diet is given to these children as
currently the prison diet is not meant
for children.
He said in some cases prison authorities
had tried to separate inmate mothers
from their minor children but had faced
difficulties as the mothers refused.
Chasi did not give the number of
children that were in prison with their
serving mothers, though the Zimbabwe
Prisons and Correctional Services
Commissioner-General, Paradzai
Zimondi revealed in January 2014 that
there were about 69 children in the
country's 42 prisons.
He appealed then to organisations and
individuals to assist by adopting the
children.
Report says most prisons in Zimbabwe
are overcrowded and often lack
adequate food and clothing for
prisoners, adding that the prison
population stands at about 16,000 after
President Robert Mugabe recently
pardoned 2,000 inmates.