Chikurubi Prison is a maximum security prison in Zimbabwe. Located on the outskirts of the country's capital, Harare, the prison is notorious for alleged mistreatment and human rights abuses. The prison is known for its overcrowding and poor sanitary conditions. Cells typically measure 9 metres (30 ft) by 4 metres (13 ft), and there are as many as 25 prisoners housed in each cell.

Notable prisoners

* Roy Bennett, Zimbabwean politician and former colonial policeman * Simon Mann, British mercenary and former British Army officer *Munyaradzi Kereke, former wealthy businessman, former ZANU–PF MP, and former advisor to retired Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe governor

Gideon Gono Gideon Gono (born 29 November 1959) is a former Governor of the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ), serving from 2003 to 2013, and is the former CEO of the CBZ Bank Limited. Gono became known internationally due to his connection to the hyperin ...

, sentenced in 2016 to 10 years in jail after being convicted of

raping Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...

his then 11-year-old niece, at the end of a decade-long legal campaign to bring him to justice despite him allegedly being protected by police and the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

's office. Kereke has apologised to "Gono and the government but not to his victims". *Former Army Captain Albert Matapo (who retired in 1991, 16 years before his alleged coup attempt), and six others, Emmanuel Marara, Oncemore Mudzurahona, Partson Mupfure, Nyasha Zivuku, Rangarirai Mazivofa and Shingirai Webster Mutemachani, ended up spending seven years in Chikurubi Prison for alleged involvement in the

2007 Zimbabwean alleged coup d'état attempt The Zimbabwean government claimed to have foiled an alleged coup d'état attempt involving almost 400 soldiers and high-ranking members of the military that would have occurred on June 2 or June 15, 2007. The alleged leaders of the coup, all of wh ...

. They were accused of planning a coup d'état to replace Robert Mugabe by Emmerson Mnangagwa, but claim they were only trying to form a new political party, and deemed Mnangagwa as bad as Mugabe, and potentially even worse. No treason trial took place, for lack of

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

, and they were released on March 1, 2014, and subsequently launched their new political party. Matapo later described the prison as "

hell In religion and folklore, hell is a location in the afterlife in which evil souls are subjected to punitive suffering, most often through torture, as eternal punishment after death. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hell ...

". *

Chidhumo and Masendeke Stephen Chidhumo and Edgar Masendeke, better known as Chidhumo and Masendeke, were a Zimbabwean criminal duo who launched the only successful prison break of Chikurubhi Maximum prison. History Chidhumo and Masendeke were hanged in 2002. They ...

, the only criminal duo who launched the only successful prison break of the Chikurubi Prison. *

Hopewell Chin'ono Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono is a Zimbabwean journalist. He has won numerous awards in journalism and has worked in both Print media, print and broadcasting journalism. He was a fellow at Harvard. History Hopewell Rugoho-Chin'ono is a documentary film ...

, a journalist and frequent critic of the government.

References

External links

Zimbabwe Prisons
at Tagzania.com Prisons in Zimbabwe {{Zimbabwe-geo-stub