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RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 3152
RUEHDS/AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 3264
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RHEHAAA/NSC WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2444
RHMFISS/EUCOM POLAD VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 HARARE 000879 
 
AF/S FOR B. WALCH 
DRL FOR N. WILETT 
AF/PD FOR C. ANYANSO 
ACCRA FOR KETEKU 
ADDIS ABABA FOR USAU 
ADDIS ABABA FOR ACSS 
GABARONE FOR H. MERRITT 
JOHANNESBURG FOR RCO KENT MAY 
NSC FOR SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR M.GAVIN 
TREASURY FOR D.PETERS AND T.RAND 
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR L.DOBBINS AND E.LOKEN 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM CASC SMIG ELAB ZI
SUBJ: THE DEVIL'S BARGAIN: AN UPDATE ON ZIMBABWE PRISONS 
 
------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Six months following the release of the film 
documentary "Hellhole," which graphically depicted the deplorable 
Zimbabwe Prison System (ZPS), the Government of Zimbabwe (GOZ) has 
responded by permitting more access to prisons from non-governmental 
organizations (NGOs) including the International Committee of the 
Red Cross (ICRC).  However, some of these NGOs have been forced to 
enter into a devil's bargain with the government, agreeing not to 
publicize the failures and abuses of the ZPS.  While this "bargain" 
has resulted in a short-term improvement of some prisoner 
conditions, the price for this limited improvement has been silence 
on the appalling conditions that remain. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Malnutrition, an almost complete collapse of the prison 
medical system, and the failure to protect the most vulnerable 
prisoners within the ZPS are just a few of the conditions cited by 
our interlocutors.  While there has been a marked decline in the 
death rate in the prisons, there is continuing concern over an 
unchecked HIV epidemic compounded by the ZPS' failure to provide 
adequate anti-retroviral therapy for prisoners.  Equally troubling, 
because the ZPS has failed to provide adequate and correct types of 
antibiotics, there has been a notable increase in microbial 
resistance amongst prisoners.  For far too many Zimbabweans, 
incarceration in prison has resulted in a death sentence.   END 
SUMMARY. 
 
---------- 
BACKGROUND 
---------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) Zimbabwe's prisons have long been renowned for their 
inhumane conditions, overcrowding, and growing health problems.  In 
April 2009, an undercover film crew went into the prisons and 
produced a shocking documentary, "Hellhole," that showed prisoners 
experiencing serious malnutrition and living in unsanitary 
conditions that directly contributed to cholera outbreaks in 
prisons.  Cholera has resulted in untold numbers of deaths.  After 
the documentary was released, and with the encouragement of the 
Deputy Minister of Justice, Jessie Majome (MDC-T), the government 
has allowed certain NGOs increased access to prisons to relieve 
overcrowding, and to improve nutrition, sanitation, and living 
conditions. 
 
¶4. (SBU) However, some elements of the GOZ continue to discourage 
investigation and discussion of the on-going human rights crisis in 
Zimbabwe, as evidenced by their continued refusal to permit 
inspection of Zimbabwe prisons by diplomatic missions.  Embassy 
consular and political officers have requested permission to visit 
Zimbabwean prisons in the last year.  Prison authorities have never 
responded to these requests.  The Embassy Consular Section was 
permitted to visit a detained American citizen only after he had 
been transferred to a deportation holding cell.  This particular 
Qbeen transferred to a deportation holding cell.  This particular 
American citizen had languished two months in a remand prison in 
Mutare before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs provided notification. 
 Other diplomatic missions have experienced similar problems 
accessing their nationals in prison.  Recently, an Australian 
diplomat traveled to Bulawayo to visit an incarcerated Australian 
citizen and spent several hours arguing with prison officials, who 
refused to grant her access.  Eventually the officials allowed her 
in, but only after a protracted argument. 
 
 
HARARE 00000879  002 OF 006 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) To better understand current conditions in prisons, we 
spoke with three organizations who have been working with prisons 
throughout the year, the ICRC, Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights 
(ZLHR), and the Zimbabwe Association for Crime Prevention and 
Rehabilitation of the Offender (ZACRO).  All have been granted 
varying levels of access, with ICRC enjoying the closest 
relationship with the government.  ZLHR has played an important role 
in hosting workshops for prison officials and helping inmates 
navigate the legal system in order to bring their cases to trial. 
ZACRO, which works with local churches, helps provide food and 
brings pastors into prisons to work with prisoners and prison 
officials. 
 
------------------ 
Cloaked In Secrecy 
------------------ 
 
¶6. (SBU) In order to ensure continued access by the ZPS, the ICRC 
entered into a non-disclosure agreement with the GOZ in which it 
agreed not to release information critical of the GOZ's handling of 
the prison crisis, in exchange for greater prison access.  In a 
recent off-the-record conversation with Emboffs, the ICRC declined 
to answer many specific questions citing their agreement with the 
ZPS, despite our assurances that we would not make the information 
public.  While they did provide information about their therapeutic 
feeding and guard uniform programs, they refused to comment on 
health conditions, medical supplies, or cases of prisoner abuse. 
The ICRC's security officer, who attended the meeting with two other 
ICRC staff members, flatly refused to answer specific questions 
about the lack of doctors within the prisons and the incarceration 
of juveniles.  When confronted with statistics provided by the ZACRO 
and ZLHR, the ICRC stated that these NGOs had not been in the 
prisons every week and therefore could not provide up-to-date 
information. 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) ZACRO and ZHLR, which have not signed non-disclosure 
agreements, have only limited access to prisons.  Both have been 
candid about the continuing humanitarian crisis with the ZPS. They 
cited severe, ongoing issues with malnutrition, extended periods of 
remand (detention before trial), non-existent medical care, and 
archaic rules that govern prisoner clothing.  Both ZACRO and ZHLR 
continue to press for increased humanitarian access by all relief 
organizations in order to address the crisis. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Overcrowded, Under-funded, and Forgotten 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Both human rights watchers and the GOZ estimate the 
current ZPS population at 11,000 in 72 major incarceration 
facilities across the country.  This contrasts sharply with the 
estimated 22,000-24,000 prisoners during the height of the Zimbabwe 
prison crisis in 2008.  Through release and death, the prison 
Qprison crisis in 2008.  Through release and death, the prison 
population has been cut in half in the last year.  In September 
2009, for example, ZPS released 2,513 prisoners from various 
facilities across Zimbabwe in order to reduce overcrowding. 
However, even with a 50 percent decrease in the population, severe 
and chronic problems remain, creating what many human rights 
observers call one of the most deplorable prison systems in the 
world. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Among the glaring shortcomings of the Zimbabwe judicial 
system is the issue of protracted pre-trial remand.  Pre-trial 
 
HARARE 00000879  003 OF 006 
 
 
detention is referred to as remand in Zimbabwe, and pre-trial 
detainees are held in remand prisons.  The majority of the prisoners 
interviewed by ZLHR have spent at least one year in a remand prison 
while some have spent three to five years on remand before ever 
having a pre-trial hearing.  The two major causes are the failure of 
the criminal justice system to dismiss cases when witnesses do not 
appear, and lack of available vehicles to transport prisoners.  Lack 
of transport has resulted in some prisoners not appearing in court 
for more than a year.  In one case, a prisoner spent 11 years in 
remand before being released, more than the maximum sentence 
possible for his crime.  ZLHR admits that some of these long remand 
periods are also caused by prisoners whose ignorance of the criminal 
justice system leads them to believe that it is better to languish 
in a remand prison than to be convicted and incarcerated in a 
regular prison. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) Recently, however, some prisoners have benefited from 
proactive judges.  Since October 2009, approximately 400 prisoners 
have been released from Khami Remand Prison in Bulawayo on 
compassionate/medical grounds after spending long periods in remand. 
 Masvingo Remand Prison has also granted bail to several inmates 
accused of lesser offenses to reduce the number of inmates spending 
long periods in remand.  ZLHR, ZACRO, and ICRC continue to lobby the 
government to release prisoners who have committed only misdemeanors 
and whose incarceration puts pressure on the already over-crowded 
prison system. 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
Malnourishment Continues, but to What Extent? 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶11.  (SBU) While food shortages have become less severe since the 
ICRC was granted access in June 2009, nutrition remains a problem. 
Shortly after gaining access to prisons, the ICRC began therapeutic 
feeding programs in 14 of the 70 facilities to help prisoners with 
severe nutritional deficiencies.  The ICRC reports that currently 
only 100 prisoners are receiving treatment under the program and 
that the rest of the prison population does not meet the medical 
definition for severe malnutrition. 
 
¶12.  (SBU) While the ICRC, ZLHR, and ZACRO agree that the majority 
of prisoners in Zimbabwe are receiving only one to two meals a day, 
they disagree as to whether the prisoners are suffering from 
nutritional deficiencies.  During a prison tour conducted by ZLHR 
from April 14-17, ZLHR noted that the majority of prisons still had 
no meat, vegetables, or oil to supplement prisoners' daily ration of 
sadza (the local staple starch made from maize meal), and that 
nutritional deficiency was a critical prison issue.  Also, ZACRO and 
ZLHR still report cases of pellagra, a serious illness caused by 
QZLHR still report cases of pellagra, a serious illness caused by 
protein deficiency, which causes severe diarrhea, dermatitis, and 
dementia.  People who subsist solely on maize are highly susceptible 
to developing pellagra, which if left untreated, can lead to death. 
However, the ICRC categorically denies that nutrition deficits are a 
serious problem, contending that because ZACRO and ZLHR are not 
given full and unrestricted access, they are ignorant of the current 
situation and forced to rely on outdated information. 
 
¶13.  (SBU) In addition to insufficient quantity and variety of food, 
another challenge is the lack of resources to prepare and distribute 
food to the prisoners.  According to ZACRO and ZLHR, kitchen 
utensils, such as plates, pots, and cups are in short supply.  At 
Mutare Remand Prison there is only one pot to cook both sadza and 
vegetables.  Often inmates must wait for other prisoners to finish 
eating so they can use the same plate, which is not washed between 
 
HARARE 00000879  004 OF 006 
 
 
usages. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Archaic, Cruel Rules Leave Prisoners Cold 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶14.  (SBU) ICRC, ZLHR, and ZACRO all agree that the majority of 
inmates do not have adequate clothing.  The ICRC is in the process 
of providing uniforms to every prisoner (approximately 11,000 
uniforms) and states that they have distributed around 7,500 
uniforms so far.  ZLHR contends that the number of uniforms that 
have actually reached the prison population is substantially lower. 
The ICRC also reports that they are providing uniforms to guards, 
which the ZPS has been unable to provide for several years. 
 
¶15.  (SBU) Another issue facing the ZPS is a set of archaic rules 
that adds to prisoner mistreatment and misery.  Numerous observers 
have noted that one of the most onerous is that prisoners are only 
allowed to wear one layer of clothing at any given time while being 
held in a remand prison, which effectively restricts female 
prisoners from wearing bras.  It also means that prisoners must 
choose between wearing a shirt or a sweater during winter. 
Prisoners are also generally not permitted to wear shoes.  This is 
not a safety measure since even prisoners who have Velcro closures 
are not allowed to keep their shoes in prison. Interestingly, the 
ICRC states that all the prisoners they have met with did have shoes 
and that they are not aware of any ZPS rules that forbid prisoners 
to have shoes.  However, the consular section and other NGOs confirm 
that the prisoners they have visited have not been permitted to keep 
their shoes.  A ZLHR lawyer reports that during his 10-day 
incarceration in June 2009, he picked up three different types of 
bacterial infections from walking barefoot on excrement-covered 
floors. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
The Most Vulnerable: Juveniles, Women and Children 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶16.  (SBU) Juveniles are particularly vulnerable to deplorable 
prison conditions, as they are routinely incarcerated with adults. 
ZLHR reports many instances of juvenile complaints of physical and 
sexual abuse, although the ICRC reports no such complaints. 
Compounding the problem of shared quarters with adult offenders, is 
the fact that juveniles must have a guardian present before they can 
be brought to trial.  Because the police are not required to notify 
families of a juvenile's arrest, juvenile offenders often are unable 
to find a guardian to represent them in court proceedings.  As a 
result, bail hearings and trial proceedings are often delayed until 
a guardian comes forward or a lawyer is appointed on a minor's 
behalf.  Because of this, juvenile offenders routinely spend more 
time in remand than adult offenders.  In 2008, according to ZLHR, 
Qtime in remand than adult offenders.  In 2008, according to ZLHR, 
approximately 200 juveniles were incarcerated in adult jails. 
 
¶17. (SBU) According to ZLHR, female prisoners have generally fared 
better than males in the ZPS. First, they appear to have suffered 
appreciably less from malnutrition, generally receiving more food 
from their families than male prisoners.  Prison officials also 
appear to have prioritized food distribution to women.  On another 
positive note, there have been no reports of rape or physical abuse 
from female prisoners, which ZLHR routinely hears from males. 
 
¶18.  (SBU) ZLHR credits better treatment of female prisoners to 
gender differences and female guards who are more diligent about 
 
HARARE 00000879  005 OF 006 
 
 
protecting female prisoners.  However while the safety and food 
security has been better for women, they have conversely endured 
more medical hardship.  For example the ZPS currently provides no 
sanitary supplies for women, which has resulted in numerous fungal 
infections, as female inmates are forced to reuse torn pieces of 
dirty blankets during their menses.  Additionally, pregnant and 
nursing mothers are not provided additional care or food rations. 
Female offenders also receive disproportionately longer sentences 
than male offenders for the same crime.  The ZLHR estimates that 
women will spend, on average, two to three years longer in prison 
than their male counterparts for the same crime. 
 
¶19.  Children also face unique difficulties.  For example, the ZPS 
does not have a separate budget to provide food or medical care for 
children living with their mothers in prison.  Because of this, 
there are no food allocations directly provided to these children 
and they are instead required to share their mothers' food 
allocation.  ZLHR claims that these children are suffering from 
malnutrition and related illnesses, particularly those whose mothers 
are HIV positive and are unable to breast feed.  ICRC states that 
there are no children in the therapeutic feeding programs and that 
prisons are adequately supplying enough food for children living 
with incarcerated mothers.  While both ZLHR and ICRC agreed that 
there are few children in the prisons, neither can provide an 
accurate number.  ZLHR estimates the number to be around 20 
children, and notes that children are generally not allowed to live 
with an incarcerated mother past the age of two. 
 
--------------- 
A Sick Populace 
--------------- 
 
¶20.  (SBU) Healthcare within the ZPS is effectively nonexistent.  In 
theory, the intent is for each prison to have a nursing team to 
handle daily needs, while regional doctors are called for serious 
cases.  However, with the exception of the Bulawayo region, most 
regions have no doctors. 
 
¶21.  (SBU) To overcome the lack of health professionals in the ZPS, 
some prisons have entered into partnerships with the military or 
civil organizations.  For example, the Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) 
assists Mutimurefu Prison in Masvingo Province by providing a doctor 
for a bimonthly clinic in the prison.  The ZNA doctor attends 
difficult cases that are initially pre-screened by the nurses.  In 
Chipinge prison located in Manicaland, the NGO, Medecins du Monde 
(MDM), provides drugs for malaria, HIV, and other illnesses, while 
medical services are provided by the Chipinge District Hospital. 
However, because the Chipinge Prison has no vehicles, often these 
services cannot be provided.  Significantly, no prisons in Zimbabwe 
are medically staffed or equipped to deal with emergency medical 
Qare medically staffed or equipped to deal with emergency medical 
care. 
 
¶22.  (SBU) In addition to the lack of medical personnel, prisons 
experience severe drug shortages.  Routine drugs for asthma, 
hypertension, and diabetes are in short supply, and prisoners may go 
days without receiving proper medication.  The lack of some 
antibiotics has resulted in sexually transmitted diseases and 
urinary tract infections being treated with inappropriate 
antibiotics.  This practice has contributed to a growing problem of 
microbial drug resistance, which is transmitted to the non-prison 
population as inmates are released. 
 
¶23.  (SBU) By far, the mentally ill are the most affected by the 
collapsed medical infrastructure within the ZPS.  Under Zimbabwean 
 
HARARE 00000879  006 OF 006 
 
 
law, inmates with psychiatric conditions are required to be examined 
by two doctors, who must both confirm the mental illness and then 
recommend that patients either be released or their conditions 
stabilized before they are returned to a prison facility.  However, 
mentally ill prisoners routinely face long waiting periods, as much 
as three years, before being evaluated.  In Masvingo Remand Prison, 
with a prison population of 263, as many as 42 prisoners suffering 
from mental illness have never been examined by doctors.  This has 
resulted in trial delays and exacerbated mental illness. 
 
-------------- 
The HIV Crisis 
-------------- 
 
¶24. (SBU) ZLHR estimates that 52 per cent of the prison population 
in Zimbabwe is HIV positive. ZLHR describes the incarceration of any 
HIV infected prisoner as "a death sentence," citing the government's 
failure to ensure consistent access to anti-retroviral therapy and 
an inability to provide adequate nutrition.  While ZPS regulations 
permit prisoners who were enrolled in an anti-retroviral therapy 
program prior to incarceration to continue to receive medication, 
the reality is that without prison transport, it is practically 
impossible for prisoners to receive medications from the clinics. 
Additionally, because not all prisoners are tested for HIV upon 
admittance to the prison, many are unaware of their HIV status until 
they have full-blown AIDS. 
 
--------------------------------- 
A Dramatically Reduced Death Rate 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶25.  (SBU) In spite of the wretched conditions, all of the NGOs we 
spoke with agree that the death rate has decreased dramatically this 
year.  However, since the ZPS does not keep statistics on the death 
rate in the prisons it is impossible to accurately quantify.  During 
the height of the prison crisis in 2008, human rights watchers 
conservatively estimated that approximately 40-50 prisoners died 
each week.  The ICRC currently estimates only 40 deaths a month. 
Most observers attribute the dramatic decrease in the death rate to 
ICRC's feeding program.  However, some more cynical observers 
believe that the weakest inmates have already died and the death 
rate has decreased because only the strongest inmates are left. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶26.  (SBU) Without doubt, the ICRC's robust response to the Zimbabwe 
prison crisis has produced immediate results.  Thousands of 
Zimbabwean prisoners who would have previously starved to death have 
been saved.  However, their agreement with the GOZ also means that 
the one organization that has unlimited access to the prisons will 
not share information about the true extent of the crisis, which 
could help address remaining problems.  This permits the GOZ to 
continue to deny culpability, while allowing it to use the ICRC as a 
Qcontinue to deny culpability, while allowing it to use the ICRC as a 
rebuttal to charges of continued human rights abuses.  Although the 
"devil's bargain" has saved lives, it has also contributed to 
continued secrecy about conditions in Zimbabwe's prisons.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
RAY