Young males constitute largest number of prisoners in Zimbabwe

YOUNG males between the early and late twenties make up the largest number of prisoners serving time in the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) operated facilities, with a majority of them sentenced by the courts for crimes ranging from assault, theft, burglary and unlawful acts involving controlled drugs to robbery.

The country has 80 correctional facilities, consisting of 49 main prisons and 31 satellite prisons across its 10 provinces.

Midlands Province has the highest number of main prisons with eight, followed by Mashonaland East with seven, while Manicaland and Harare each have six. In contrast, Mashonaland Central,

Matabeleland South and Masvingo have the lowest number of main prisons, with three each.

In a report titled ‘2026 First Quarter Prison Admissions, Discharges Statistics Report ’, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) said the prison population stood at slightly over 24 000 at the end of March.

“The total prison population at the end of the first quarter of 2026 was 24 072 (23 250 males and 822 females). The total prison population is the ZPCS unlock figures, which is the total number of prisoners who slept in prisons the night before the reporting date, which is 27 March 2026,” reads part of the report.

“Males constituted 96,6 percent of the prison population whilst women were 3,4 percent. The national imprisonment rate was 149 prisoners per 100 000 people.

The imprisonment rate for males and females was 299 per 100 000 and 10 per 100 000 respectively,” said ZimStat.

The agency said that the prison population decreased from 27 382 at the end of December last year to 24 072 in March this year, while noting that young males made up 45.5 percent of new prisoners.

“The 25–29 age category constitutes the largest proportion of newly admitted prisoners by age group at 4 041 prisoners, followed by the 20–24 age group (3 357 prisoners).

“Beyond the peak (25-29 age group), admission numbers decline steadily with increasing age for both sexes, indicating a clear downward trend in incarceration among older populations,” said ZimStat.

Only 114 prisoners over the age of 65 were recorded in the prison system across the country during the period under review.

In terms of the common crimes committed by new prisoners, ZimStat noted that the majority of inmates committed assaults, theft, burglary, unlawful acts involving controlled drugs or precursors and robbery (without a firearm).

“This distribution seems to mirror that of crimes that led to the imprisonment of new male prisoners. Assaults, theft, burglary, unlawful acts involving controlled drugs or precursors and robbery (without a firearm) were the most frequent crimes for prisoners in the 20–24 age category of new male prisoners,” said the agency.

At the beginning of March, President Mnangagwa granted 4 305 prisoners amnesty as part of efforts to promote restorative justice and decongest the country’s correctional facilities.

President Mnangagwa proclaimed Clemency Order No. 1 of 2026 after exercising his Executive Prerogative of Mercy in terms of Section 112 (1)(a) and (d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

Prisoners who benefited include convicted female inmates, excluding those convicted of specified offences; inmates under 18 years; inmates serving effective sentences of 48 months or less for non-specified offences; inmates aged 60 and above who have served at least one-third of their terms; and inmates certified as terminally ill.

The clemency also covered visually impaired and physically challenged inmates whose conditions cannot be adequately managed within correctional facilities, inmates at open prisons, and those who have served a minimum of 20 years, including prisoners whose death sentences were commuted to life imprisonment.

However, offenders convicted of serious crimes such as murder, treason, rape, robbery, armed robbery, carjacking, public violence and trafficking in persons are excluded.

Turning to foreign prisoners serving time in Zimbabwean prisons, ZimStat noted that the majority were from southern African countries.

“692 non-Zimbabwean prisoners were admitted into Zimbabwe’s prisons during the first quarter of 2026. 449 of the foreign prisoners were from Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries (377 males and 72 females).

“The number of new prisoners from other African countries and outside Africa was 49 and 194, respectively,” said ZimStat.

The agency said 9 530 of the new prisoners reported that they were employed before their incarceration, while 7 861 were unemployed.