After 45 days in jail over trumped up allegations of inciting violence, journalist Hopewell Chin’ono has revealed that inmates who tested positive for Covid-19 were given hot water as medication.
In an interview with the international media, Chin’ono who was released last week on $10 000 bail claimed that the situation at Zimbabwe’s prisons was “terrible.”
“The situation there is terrible. Inmates are served with boiled beans and cabbages all year round, once a day.
“If you fall sick, there is no medication. Those who test positive to Covid-19 are given hot water as a remedy to help them lessen the pain and impact of the dreaded disease.
“Inmates cannot even turn when asleep because they are packed like sardines,” Chin’ono said.
Chin’ono was arrested together with opposition Transform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume and charged with inciting violence in connection with 31st July protests against corruption in President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s under-fire administration.
They were detained at Zimbabwe’s biggest and most notorious jail, the Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison.
Chin’ono blamed jail conditions when he fell sick during his last days of being detained.
He had developed a fever and it’s part of the reason why he was granted bail by High Court Judge Justice Tawanda Chitapi last week.
He played a key role in exposing President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his son Collins and his wife Auxilia in massive allegations of corruption, the US$60m Drax Covidgate scandal.
The fallout saw the arrest and dismissal of former Health Minister Obadiah Moyo.
