adminFungai Lupande : Herald Reporter
MDC leader Mr Morgan Tsvangirai was yesterday barred from visiting his incarcerated party members after he disregarded prison regulations. Mr Tsvangirai was not visiting his party members in his personal capacity. According to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services regulations, he was supposed to write a letter to the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs notifying them of his intention to visit.ZPCS spokesperson Superintendent Priscilla Mthembo said Mr Tsvangirai’s lawyer had written a letter to prison authorities informing them of his intended visit.
Before the prisons authorities responded to his letter, the MDC leader proceeded to Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
He was blocked.
“Mr Tsvangirai was advised to write a letter to the Ministry because he was not visiting in his personal capacity,” said Supt Mthembo.
“The requirement applies to everyone regardless of political affiliation.
“His lawyer knew it and knows the proper way to communicate with prison officials that is why he wrote the letter. Maybe Mr Tsvangirai was not patient enough to wait for our response.”
Supt Mtembo said the requirement was vital for security purposes.
However, the MDC-T said the treatment that was given to Mr Tsvangirai was unprofessional and meant to harass their leader.
“The prison authorities decided to conduct themselves in a very uncouth and unprofessional manner by insisting that president Tsvangirai is not ‘an ordinary person’, whatever that means. This clearly shows that the prison authorities were bent on harassing and humiliating our party leader.
“We condemn this overzealous and unlawful conduct in the strongest terms. In fact, a formal inquiry should be instituted by the Commissioner of Prisons & Correctional Facilities, Retired Major-General Paradzai Zimondi,to establish why the prison bosses at Chikurubi Maximum Prison decided to behave in the manner in which they did,’’ said MDC-T spokesperson Mr Obert Gutu.
Online Reporter