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Thandeka Moyo-Ndlovu, [email protected]
YOUNG adults aged between 20 and 24 accounted for a majority of prisoners incarcerated in Zimbabwe during the fourth quarter of 2023 with reports that 97 percent of inmates are male.
The Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZimStat) in its Fourth Quarter Prison Report said the majority of new prisoners that were admitted during the year had completed lower secondary or some secondary level of education.
Prison statistics help to inform policy development and planning in the criminal justice system and the country uses them to report on the United Nations Crime Trends Survey (UNCTS) and monitoring of Sustainable Development Goal 16.3.2.
ZimStat acting director-general Mrs Matiwonesa Phiri said information contained in the report was based on data provided by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS).
“The number of new prisoners from Zimbabwe increased from 12 641 in the third quarter of 2023 to 15 276 in the fourth quarter. Non-Zimbabwean new prisoners decreased from 530 in the third quarter to 520 during the fourth quarter of 2023.
Non-Zimbabwean female prisoners increased from 55 during the third quarter to 164 in the fourth quarter,” she said.
“There was a notable increase in the number of prisoners in all the age groups during the period between the third and fourth quarter of 2023. The highest proportion of new prisoners were in the 20 to 24 years followed by those aged 25 to 29. The highest share of new male prisoners was between 25 to 29 years, followed by those aged 20 to 24. Most new female prisoners were in the 20 to 24 age group followed by those who were in the 25 to 29 age group. It can be observed that from the age group 20 to 24 going up, the number of new prisoners decreased with increasing age.”
Mrs Phiri said a total of 520 non-Zimbabwean prisoners were admitted into Zimbabwe’s prisons during the fourth quarter of 2023 and it translated to a proportion of 3,4 percent of the new prisoner population.
“The highest proportion of new prisoners usually lived in Mashonaland West, Harare, Midlands and Mashonaland East provinces. Most of the new female prisoners usually lived outside Zimbabwe (15,2 percent). The least proportion of prisoners usually lived in Bulawayo (4,5 percent), followed by Matabeleland South and Matabeleland North,” she said.
Mrs Phiri said most of the foreign prisoners were from other Southern African Development Community (Sadc) countries (409).
“Of these, 250 were male and 159 were female and the number of prisoners from other African countries and outside Africa was 62 and 49, respectively.
The report also showed that among all prisoners, 68,3 percent had attained lower secondary or some secondary education.
“Those who had not attended school and those who had completed primary or some primary education were 23,7 percent.
“New prisoners with tertiary education constituted 2,7 percent of the total admissions. Notably, the majority of new prisoners that were admitted during the four quarters had completed lower secondary or some secondary level of education,” said Mrs Phiri.
Online Reporter