Chinamasa says SABC lying about state of Zimbabwe’s prisons

By Violet Gonda
2 April 2009

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa dismissed as "false" a South African TV documentary which exposed the appalling prison conditions in Zimbabwe. The documentary showed emaciated bodies of prisoners dying from hunger and disease.

RadioVOP quoted the Justice Minister accusing the SABC of fabricating the story and claiming the pictures were taken in other jails in Africa, not in Zimbabwe.

But the SABC executive producer of the programme, Johann Abrahams, says the documentary is absolutely factual. He told SW Radio Africa there is proof and extensive footage showing that the visuals were taken in Zimbabwe. He said if it wasn’t a serious matter he would laugh about this, but that clearly this was a very wrong response by the minister.

“I can’t believe that he (Chinamasa) will say something like that and still try to shield the reality from what is going on in the country and inside the prisons,” Abrahams said.
The executive producer said there is a lot of unused footage showing the crisis in Zimbabwe’s prison, including interviews with concerned prison wardens who could not be identified for security reasons. “We stand by our story. This is in Zimbabwe.”
The SABC says visuals were taken in Khami, Beitbridge and Harare Remand Prisons, with help from prison wardens and inmates, who supplied the footage using spy cameras supplied by the film crew.
There is also absolute proof of the horror inside Zimbabwe’s jails from the thousands of MDC supporters and innocent Zimbabweans who have been arrested and suffered for themselves.