LILONGWE, MALAWI – The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Malawi has donated 350 three-tier bunk beds, 1050 mattresses and three soil rippers to support crop production and enable inmates to sleep in dignity in one of Malawi’s most congested prisons.

Signe Rotberga, UNODC Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Steinar Hagen, the Royal Norwegian Ambassador to Malawi, whose embassy provided money to procure the beds, jointly presented the beds and soil rippers to Malawi’s Minister of Homeland Security, Mr. Nicholas Dausi, here on Thursday.

Rotberga stressed that donating beds was a short term solution to mitigate the impact of overcrowding. This would be followed by improvement of ventilation, access to water, sanitation and hygiene facilities.

She said other long-term interventions would include simplifying and speeding up the criminal justice process, improving access to legal aid, taking measures to reduce pre-trial detention and introducing the use of alternatives to imprisonment. Support would be rendered, also, to revising the legislative framework, which may include decriminalization of certain offences, reduction of sentence lengths and increasing the age of criminal responsibility.

This year UNODC trained almost 200 magistrates from the Southern, Eastern, Central and Northern regions of Malawi to increase awareness on alternative sentencing and strengthen their professional capacity to apply non- custodial measures to deserving persons.

Additionally, UNODC has provided technical assistance revise Malawi’s Prison Act and Sentencing Guidelines. The new Prison Act would allow the use of parole and community work. UNODC is urging Malawi to adopt it as soon as possible.

The beds will benefit inmates at Maula Prison, one of the harshest and most overcrowded prisons in the country. Congestion is linked to adverse health outcomes. Experts agree that it creates an environment for disease-causing organisms to thrive.

Target 3.3 of Sustainable Development Goal Number 3 calls on member states to by the year 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected tropical diseases while combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.

Most prisons in Malawi receive very little funding. This makes it difficult for them to adequately meet prisoners’ nutrition, fresh air and other needs. Malawi prisons are either heavily or lightly congested. This calls for improvement in the classification of prisoners and other measures.

Although prisoners bear the brunt of overcrowding and poor nutrition, there are many players and factors within the criminal justice system that contribute to overcrowding. One of them is knee-jerk use of custodial sentences, sometimes with scant or no regard at all to the age of offenders or the nature of their crimes.

Hagen also expressed concern over overcrowding in the approximately 30 Malawi prisons.

Steinar Hagen, the Royal Norwegian Ambassador to Malawi and Malawi’s Minister of Homeland Security, Mr. Nicholas Dausi walk out of a cell at Maula Prison where the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Malawi donated 350 three-tier bunk beds, 1050 mattresses and three soil rippers on Thursday.

“The holding capacity of Malawi’s prison system is an estimated 6,220 individuals. With a current population of about 14,200 inmates held across its various institutions with varying population distribution, the Malawi prison system is operating at over double its designed holding capacity,” he said.

He said the dignity of inmates should be upheld at all costs.

“Prisoners are human beings like all of us. They have the same rights as all other persons as far as the law can allow. They have lost their liberty whilst in the prison, but they should not be deprived of their human dignity or their right to equality before the law. Prisoners should not be subject to extra punishment while in prison in addition to their sentencing,” Hagen said.

Describing the situation in Malawi prisons as “worrying”, Hagen called for alignment of Malawi’s national laws and practices with international human rights standards and principles such as the Nelson Mandela Rules.

“To effect sustainable change, development assistance efforts must help Malawi build capacities for fundamental criminal justice reform,” he said.

Article 10 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights exhorts member states to ensure that all people deprived of their liberty be treated humanely.

“It is below human dignity to sleep in cold shacks without a mattress or a blanket, to have limited shelter from cold or heat, to eat poor food, not to be able to cook when it rains and to lack proper sanitation,” he said.

With a current prison population throughout the country, the Malawi Prison Service would require 3 000 triple deck bunk beds to provide all its inmates decent sleeping space, according to Henry Ndindi, a medical doctor and Country Coordinator for UNODC in Malawi. An assessment done by UNODC established that even if they were to be procured, 3000 bunk beds would not fit into the existing prison space.

A man walks past one of 350 three-tier bunk beds and 1050 mattresses that United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Malawi donated on Thursday at Maula Prison on Thursday.

Accordingly, UNODC advocates for reducing the prison population. To achieve this, UNODC is creating awareness among stakeholders within the criminal justice system on the benefits of alternative sentencing.

Yet another challenge affecting the MPS is providing ablution facilities: toilets, showers, hand washing taps and basins in the correct ratio. The toilet prison ratio is 1 toilet to 25 prisoners, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). In Malawi, UNODC has established that while some prisons may have the appropriate toilet to prisoner ratio, the quality of the toilets leaves a lot to be desired.

In some prisons, there are still not enough toilets and showers due to congestion. The current UNODC Project in Malawi is, therefore, focusing on the most affected prisons to improve the prisoner toilet ratio and introduce water points so that prisoners can wash their hands and drink water.

In many prisons, inmates still use the bucket system to relieve themselves at night which does not comply with internationally agreed upon sanitary conditions. Changing this situation would involve renovating the prisons. With respect to ventilation, some cells are seriously compromised while the standards of wash facilities are low in terms of quantity and quality.

UNODC and the Royal Norwegian Embassy donated, also, three soil ripping machines for use in crop production at three prisons: Kasungu, Zomba and Chitedze.

Chief Commissioner Wandika Phiri, the Commissioner General of the Malawi Prison Service, welcomed to the donation.

Chief Commissioner Wandika Phiri, the Commissioner General of the Malawi Prison Service, Malawi’s Minister of Homeland Security, Mr. Nicholas Dausi, Signe Rotberga, UNODC Regional Coordinator for Southern Africa and Steinar Hagen, the Royal Norwegian Ambassador to Malawi pose in front of bunk beds and soil rippers donated to Maula Prison on Thursday.

“These bunk beds will improve prisoners’ accommodation while not suffocating the already limited space. The soil rippers will improve crop production. Our farm land is overused and has since lost its fertility,” she said.

Phiri thanked UNODC for supporting MPS projects related to health, agriculture and infrastructure development. Minister Dausi acknowledged that overcrowding was a challenge in Malawi prisons but expressed optimism that the many magistrates that UNODC has trained in alternative sentencing would help resolve the problem.

BY JAIROS SAUNYAMA

PRESIDENT Emmerson Mnagagwa was on Saturday left a relieved man after thousands of people from Mashonaland East province thronged Mahusekwa Growth Point where he addressed a rally that coincided with the official opening of Mahusekwa District Hospital.

In the recent past, Mnangagwa had been forced to address a handful of people, with MDC feasting on the development which they claimed showed that he lacked legitimacy.

But, at the weekend, an estimated 6 000 people attended Mnangagwa’s rally, prompting the Zanu PF leader, who is facing a growing internal dissent to his rule, to grovel over the respectable attendance.

“I came here for the official opening of this hospital at the invitation of (Health) minister Obadiah Moyo, but was told that the Zanu PF family wants to meet me. I want to thank you for the love you have exhibited. I also want to thank you for the massive numbers here,” Mnangagwa said.

Last month, Mnangagwa was forced to abandon addressing a rally in Bindura after a handful of people showed up.

He proceeded to officiate at a graduation ceremony at Bindura University of Science Education after State security details pulled down a podium mounted for him at the flopped rally. This was a month after the same Mashonaland Central snubbed his wife, First Lady Auxilia’s family fun day at Chipadze Stadium.

On October 25, the Zanu PF leader failed to attract masses to fill the giant 60 000-seater National Sports Stadium (NSS) for a march against sanctions imposed on the country by the West.

Only about 7 000 people attended the anti-sanctions march despite bountiful of buses and trains having been lined up to ferry people from across the country. The NSS attendance was ironically almost the same number of people the Zanu PF leader addressed in Mahusekwa. Zanu PF Mashonaland East youth league led by Kelvin Mutsvairo and political commissar Lincoln Matare were involved in mobilising party supporters to travel to Mahusekwa to meet Mnnagagwa.

BY HARRIET CHIKANDIWA

THE trial of former Tourism minister Priscah Mupfumira, who is facing corruption allegations involving US$95 million, has been postponed to December 9.

Mupfumira yesterday appeared before Harare magistrate Hosea Mujaya who postponed the trial proceedings.

The former minister and Zanu PF politburo member was arrested on July 25, 2019 by the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission, becoming the first sitting minister under President Emmerson Mnangagwa to be arrested for graft.

She is being jointly charged with Ngoni Masoka, the former permanent secretary in the Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare ministry.

Another charge, which is also before the trial court, emanated from an incident where she allegedly used money from the ministry to sponsor people who attended her daughter’s wedding in Cape Town, South Africa.

Meanwhile, the unavailability of witnesses who were supposed to testify during the trial of flamboyant businessman Wicknell Chivayo forced provincial magistrate Francis Mapfumo to defer the trial to December 10.

Chivayo is facing bribery charges after his company, Intratrek, transferred $10 000 to former Zimbabwe Power Company board chairperson Stanley Kazhanje’s personal bank account to ostensibly influence the outcome of a tender process.

The court heard that the trial was supposed to commence, but an application for postponement was submitted because the witnesses in this case were not around.

BY FORTUNE MBELE

With three rounds of games left before the close of business in the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League, the fight for survival has sucked in at least eight teams, including recent Caf Confederation Cup participant Triangle, and is set to go to the wire.

Previously, 36 points would be enough to survive relegation. Not anymore. There are teams with 37 points who are not yet safe, while Manica Diamonds, with 41 points, are also still looking over their shoulders.

Triangle on 11th position with 37 points are just two points ahead of Bulawayo Chiefs, a team that sits on the relegation cut-off point. That’s how tight things are at the bottom.

The Lowveld side, who appeared to be title contenders at the start of the season, suffered a 2-0 defeat to TelOne on Saturday at Ascot Stadium, which was their fifth defeat in their last seven matches, a run of results that has dragged them into the relegation battle.

It seems their participating in the continental showcase sapped the life out of them after starting the season very well.

The Taurai Mangwiro-coached side have a game in hand against Hwange.

Besides Hwange, a tricky fixture considering that they are also fighting relegation, Triangle will also face ZPC Kariba. They will then play another relegation struggler Yadah before concluding their campaign with a clash against Dynamos.

Triangle struggled this year is a huge contrast to the team that excelled last year when they finished the season on fourth position and won the Chibuku Super Cup, earning them the ticket to the Africa safari.

Just below Triangle is Harare City, who for all their resources, are also struggling to stay afloat.

They have the same number of points as Triangle and have what appears to be a tough run-in on their remaining games.

Having fought back from two goals down to force a draw away at ZPC Kariba, things get tough in their next fixture as they face fellow relegation candidates Yadah in a six-pointer match. Harare City will also face Dynamos and Ngezi Platinum Stars.

TelOne arrived into the league with all the glitz at the start of the year, but could find themselves back in Division One after just one season.

They currently sit on 13th position with 36 points, and while they have picked two wins and a draw in their last three matches – that good run of results will mean nothing if they lose their remaining matches against bottom-placed Mushowani Stars, Hwange and championship-chasing Chicken Inn.

Herentals are on position 14 with 35 points and their last three encounters pit them against Hwange, Chicken Inn and Bulawayo Chiefs.

The four teams that are currently in the relegation zone are Bulawayo Chiefs at 35 points, Hwange (33 points), Yadah (32 points) and Mushowani Stars, two points below.

Mushowani will need to win all their remaining three matches, against TelOne, ZPC Kariba and Yadah to entertain any chance of survival.

But it’s not all doom and gloom for the four as wins in their next matches could see them jump out of the relegation zone, which makes the battle for survival the more exciting; and with the number of teams that are involved, it seems the fight will go to the wire.

BY TAWANDA TAFIRENYIKA

TABLE-toppers Caps United, Chicken Inn and FC Platinum face a tough run-in as the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League race hurtles towards the end.

Three rounds of matches are left before the end of the season, but the three clubs are neck-to-neck in the battle for dominance of domestic football with Caps leading the pack with 55 points, two ahead of Chicken Inn and FC Platinum who are separated only by a goal difference.

Although Caps and FC Platinum have difficult assignments in their remaining three matches of the campaign, it is Chicken Inn who appear to be facing the biggest hurdle in their bid to win the championship again after lifting it four years ago.

The GameCocks, under the guidance of Joey Antipas, the coach who guided them to their last championship, has perhaps the toughest run-in as they face teams that are fighting for their life in their remaining three matches.

They have since awaken to the reality of playing against a team fighting for dear life after stuttering to a 1-1 draw against 16th-placed Hwange on Saturday.

Up next for them is 15th-placed Bulawayo Chiefs in a city derby. Before their 1-0 defeat to Manica Diamonds at the weekend, a result that reduced their chances of survival considerably, Bulawayo Chiefs had not lost a match in their last three games.

The Twitter Boys will be looking to secure maximum points against the title chasers as they fight to stay afloat.

Apart from Bulawayo Chiefs, Chicken Inn will also travel to Harare to face another relegation candidate, Herentals. The Students, as they are affectionately known, are still battling for survival on fifth position from the bottom with 35 points. They desperately need a victory to be sure of safety.

The Bulawayo side will wind off their league programme with a home clash against TelOne who are also fighting for dear life. TelOne under the guidance of former Warriors coach Rahman Gumbo have 36 points, and are just a point above Bulawayo Chiefs, a team sitting on the relegation cut-off point.

For Caps, they too have what appears to be another tough run-in.

The Green Machine, who allowed Yadah to come from two goals down to be held 2-2, face off city rivals Dynamos in their next assignment.

This big clash has a potential on deciding the destiny of the championship this term.

After the Harare derby, Caps travel to Baobab to face Ngezi Platinum, who have vastly improved since Rodwell Dhlakama took over and are in sixth place on the league table – just a rung below Dynamos although they have the same number of points at 44.

They will then round off the campaign with a home clash against defending champions FC Platinum.

The fixtures list appears to be kind to FC Platinum who are away to Chapungu next before hosting Black Rhinos, two teams that have really nothing to play for, besides bragging rights.

The champions will then wrap up their campaign with a clash against current league leaders. This match threatens to be the title decider.

BY FREEMAN MAKOPA

GLOBETROTTING Afro-fusion band, Mokoomba, could be Zimbabwe’s biggest cultural export through music.

The award-winning outfit, which perhaps is known better outside the country, has performed in nearly every part of the world where their music — which celebrates their Tonga culture, traditions and language — has found many takers.

The group said it was excited to be part of the line-up of musicians performing at this year’s edition of Music in Africa Conference for Collaborations, Exchange and Showcases (ACCES) slated for November 30 in Accra, Ghana.

The showcase, which is now in its third edition, is a leading pan-African music business event organised by the Music in Africa Foundation (MIAF) and held in a different African city every year.

Mokoomba manager Marcus Gora told NewsDay Life & Style that they revelled in the opportunity to perform before local and international bookers and audiences in Ghana on their debut in that country.

“We are excited to be performing in Ghana for the first time. Our performance at ACCES will be in front of an audience of local and international bookers and local audiences. The showcase programme has other artistes from various countries,” he said.

“Our second concert will be at a venue called the Jazz Bar and Grill in collaboration with local (Ghanaian) artiste KyeKyeku.”

The performers at the showcase, include Songhoy Blues (Mali), Gato Preto (Mozambique and Ghana), Arka’n (Togo), Sibusile Xaba (South Africa) and Ifrikya Spirit (Algeria), Lucia de Carvalho (Angolan based in France) and Bholoja (eSwatini), as well as locals Yaa Yaa, Kyekyeku and Ghanalogue Highlife, Cina Soul and FRA.

Global music superstar Akon is one of the leading speakers at this year’s event. The five-time Grammy nominee joins a star-studded line-up that includes top Ghanaian musicians and experts such as Sarkodie, Efya, Samini, Kyekyeku, John Collins, Ebo Taylor, Bibie Brew and Wanlov the Kubolor.

High-profile speakers and facilitators will include Chocolate City vice-president Aibee Abidoye, Ditto music founder and CEO Lee Parsons (UK), Airforce1 Records MD Joe Chialo (Germany), Gallo Music Group GM Rob Cowling (South Africa) Boulevard Festival co-director Hichman Bahou (Morocco) and TRUE Africa founder and editor-in-chief Claude Grunitzky.

Mokoomba, with their music rooted in the Tonga, Luvale and Nyanja rhythms and melodies have used their compositions to transcend borders and cultures as they continue to be recognised and celebrated across the world.
The group was inducted into the Hall of Fame when Afropop Worldwide celebrated its 30th anniversary last year at City Winery, New York City.