Roofs blown off at Whawha Prison complex

Image: zbc

Heavy rains which were accompanied by strong winds have left a trail of destruction at the Whawha Prison complex in Gweru, leading to overcrowding of prisoners at the institution.

Whawha Medium Prison Officer in Charge, Superintendent Tineyi Makeredza said: “The heavy winds came at around 2 pm. They blew away the roofs of nine cells. Around 100 prisoners had to be moved to other cells.

“Our carrying capacity is 1 200 and we already had 1 460 prisoners, meaning we were overcrowded already. The situation has been worsened by this unfortunate incident.”

Prison authorities say assistance from various stakeholders is welcome to improve the situation.

“It is a very sad situation that occurred at this prison. My officers are still quantifying the amount of loss incurred. We also have around 20 families of officers whose houses were affected in the camp.

“This is the second time we have experienced such as it also happened sometime in 2016. We didn’t anticipate this and as such we need materials from the corporate world so that we rectify the problem,” said ZPCS Midlands Province Deputy Officer Commanding, Assistant Commissioner Clemence Chigogo.

Alternative accommodation for affected officers and families has since been provided as prison authorities are working round the clock for possible solutions to the problem at hand.

Zbc