HARARE – Zimbabwean prisoners Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu were badly beaten by prison guards at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison on Wednesday after they were caught with mobile phones in their prison cells.
The two prisoners, who were convicted of corruption and fraud and sentenced to lengthy jail terms, were being monitored following reports that they were communicating with the outside world and using social media as part of their communications network.
A monitoring team was set up to track their social media presence, including checking their WhatsApp activity and Facebook online status, which is indicated by the green light when a user is active.
When Moses Mpofu went online, a team of prison officers raided his cell and went straight to him, where an iPhone mobile phone was recovered.
He was taken out of the cell and beaten severely until he revealed to the guards that his fellow prisoner and associate, Mike Chimombe, also had a mobile phone. He went on to name the prison officers who allegedly kept the phones for them during the day and handed them over at night when prisoners were locked in their cells.
A second team of prison guards then raided Chimombe’s cell and found him in possession of an iPhone. He was also dragged out of his cell and beaten heavily.
Both prisoners sustained injuries and had to be taken to the prison hospital within Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison for treatment.
The prison officers implicated in assisting them were detained. Their living quarters within the prison compound were searched, where iPhone chargers used to power the smuggled mobile phones during the day were reportedly recovered.
A disciplinary tribunal was convened last Friday, where the implicated prison officers were found guilty of misconduct and subsequently dismissed from the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service.
The prison service, which falls under the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, is now said to be in discussions with relevant authorities to consider withdrawing the remission that had been granted to the two inmates.
Remission is a system under which a prisoner’s sentence is reduced by the prison authorities, allowing them to serve a shorter period than the full term imposed by the court, subject to good behaviour and compliance with prison regulations.
Mike Chimombe and Moses Mpofu were jailed after being convicted of fraud linked to the Presidential Goat Pass-On Scheme, in which they were found to have defrauded the State through a corrupt livestock supply tender.
Mpofu was sentenced to 22 years in prison, with eight years suspended, leaving an effective 15-year jail term, while Chimombe was sentenced to 17 years, with five years suspended, leaving an effective 12-year jail term.
They have appealed against both their convictions and sentences, and this latest development is unlikely to have any bearing on the outcome of their appeal, as it does not relate to the merits of the case or the legality of the trial and sentence.
A senior prisons source told Nehanda Radio that prison security breaches are treated as serious disciplinary and, in some cases, criminal matters because they undermine institutional control, safety, and the integrity of custodial sentences.
He said when prohibited items such as mobile phones are discovered, prisons launch internal investigations to determine how the breach occurred, whether staff were complicit, and whether inmates violated prison regulations.
He said that prisoners found in possession of contraband usually face sanctions including solitary confinement, loss of privileges, withdrawal of remission, or additional charges if criminal conduct is established.
He added that correctional systems like Chikurubi Prison treat such breaches firmly because unauthorised communication can facilitate further crimes, witness interference, corruption, or the compromise of security operations.
The prison service is now studying the communications the two prisoners made and the people they were communicating with to establish whether further crimes were committed. – Nehanda Radio
