The ManicaPost
Ray Bande
Senior Reporter
AS Women’s Month comes to an end next week on Wednesday, female inmates at Mutare Remand Prison rue missed opportunities in their God-given responsibility of motherhood.
March is set aside to honour women’s achievements and their contributions to global development.
Currently, Mutare Remand Prison has 13 female inmates.
It has capacity to hold 15 female inmates.
On Wednesday, The Manica Post visited the rehabilitation facility and some of the inmates were not hesitant to share their experiences under confinement.
Thirty-five-year old Esnath Sithole, a mental patient who hails from Checheche Village, Chipinge, left her two children (aged two and six) under the care of relatives.
esnath sithole
She revealed that she is facing challenges in accessing medication for her condition.
Sithole was jailed on January 4, 2021 after pelting a bus with stones, thereby injuring a passenger in the process.
She will be sentenced today (Friday).
“I had come to Mutare in search of relatives that could assist me with my medication. I have a history of psychological problems. I pelted the bus with stones and one of the stones injured a man who then retaliated and beat me up saying I was faking mental challenges. He also pelted me with stones and I sustained injuries from that incident.
“I left my two boys at home and it hurts. The main problem I am facing relates to medication. I used to get help from my husband who is in Checheche.
“Since my husband does not earn much, it is now a challenge for him to keep sourcing my medication and bring it this side,” said Sithole who gave a logical explanation of her situation, although she would intermittently lose chronology in her narration.
Sithole said although living with a minor in prison would be a greater challenge, she terribly misses her children as they used to comfort her whenever she broke down crying.
vena mukora
(40) of Mafuke Village in Zimunya, a mother of six, was staying with her child in prison until the minor went back home upon turning two.
Mukora says she was falsely accused of helping her husband rape a minor.
For Mukora, the justice system has not been fair in dealing with her case given that her husband was not arrested after escaping, only to return and sell their household property.
She said her husband is already living with another woman.
“I was jailed in November 2019 after being falsely accused of helping my husband to rape my brother’s daughter. We have always had a sour relationship with my brother and they cooked up these allegations. I was eventually jailed irrespective of the fact that I had no hand in the alleged rape case.
“They even lied about the age of the rape victim just to aggravate the circumstances in court. She was 18 but they told the court that she was 15 when she was raped.
“It is painful because I keep thinking about my children and the property we had, which I am told he is selling. We had five beasts, three goats and many chickens.
“My eldest child who is already married is the only one who occasionally visits me here. I am also told my husband has also sold the car we used to have.
“I have developed hypertension here in prison because of this situation,” she said.
Zvisinei Matsapa (45) of Honde Valley was sentenced to eight months imprisonment after she hacked an assailant with a machete in retaliation.
She was sentenced on October 3 last year.
“We used to hire casual workers at our home and pay them soon after getting their services. However, we did not have money on that particular day, yet the three men we had engaged wanted to get paid.
“They came around midnight demanding their money. My husband is 85, so I had to come out of the house to explain to them that we would settle their payments later, but they would have none of it and indiscriminately assaulted me.
“My husband came out to try and save me, but he was overpowered. That is when I got a chance to rush into the house and get a machete which I then used to strike one of them. They went away soon after that in apparent defeat.
“The next morning police officers came to arrest me. This culminated into me being sentenced eight months in jail. I really feel for my husband and I am always in pain when I think of the fact that he is all alone at home,” she narrated.
Mutare Remand Prison Officer-in-Charge, Superintendent Tonderai Ukama said they are facing a number of challenges in the rehabilitation of female inmates at Mutare Remand Prison.
“If you look at the facilities we have in Zimbabwe, they were constructed with male inmates in mind only.
“Dressing the inmates is actually a challenge. When they get clothes, its only dresses, no sanitary wear. It is a challenge. We are only getting assistance from civic organisations.
“The same applies with the children of inmates. They also have special dietary needs but we have nothing specifically reserved for them.
“It is high time for our laws to look at the female inmates as well as their children because they have special needs,” said Superintendent Ukama.
