The Sunday News
Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
WHEN Philani Moyo* (21) walked into the prison walls of Khami Remand Prison in 2022, all hope was lost. Frustration, hurt and hate engulfed him as he still maintains that he was convicted of a crime that he did not commit.
At 19, he says his aunt accused him of raping her daughter. The young inmate was to be sentenced to five years in prison and is left with two years to complete his sentence but even though, the thought of having to spend time in a correctional facility being rehabilitated for something he said he did not do depresses him.
A number of rehabilitation activities including the melodious Imbube group which he joined have tried helping him calm his nerves, accept his fate, pick himself up and be optimistic of the future but still that does not completely erase the thoughts of how cruel the world out there can be. His hope is however, nourished and his spirited watered whenever he sees or passes by Cell 44 which was President Mnangagwa’s cell during his six years’ political incarceration at Khami.
The cell that is located in the B Hall of Khami Remand Prison has remained a beacon of hope and a source of inspiration for many a prisoner at the prison. It has since been converted into a monument to tell the story of President Mnagangwa whose prison number was 841/ 66. The then young but politically conscious Cde Mnangagwa had been arrested in Salisbury’s Highfield Township in 1965 for being part of the Crocodile gang that carried out sabotage activities against the Rhodesian regime after receiving military training in China.
When one enters the single cell, they are greeted by President Mnangagwa’s portrait on the wall with a big prison register showing his booking placed on a small table. His biography is also placed on the monument for visitors to have an appreciation of the crime and the profile of the prisoner. Moyo said thinking of the circumstances of President Mnangagwa was enough inspiration to keep him going.
“I was arrested after my aunt accused me of raping her daughter. I was 19 years old and suspect that she could have told her what to say in court. The long and short of it is that I was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. The sentence was later reduced and I am left with almost two years. Considering the circumstances that led me to jail, I was really heartbroken, and it affected me a lot. As time went on, rehabilitation officers and activities in here have helped me a lot. As for Cell 44, it is one cell in this prison that has given me hope that one day I will come out and chase after my dreams.
President Mnangagwa was as young as I am and was facing a much more serious sentence than I am facing but he never gave up. He remains an inspiration to us both in and out of prison. It is not the end of us, greater things lie ahead of us,” said Moyo.
The Deputy Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Advocate Nobert Mazungunye who was accompanied by his Permanent Secretary Mrs Vimbai Nyemba who were on a familiarisation tour of the Khami Prison Complex visited Cell 44 monument.
Speaking after the tour, Advocate Mazungunye said the cell reminded him of the value and sacrifice which President Mnangagwa and other liberation heroes and heroines put up in the liberation of the country.
“I am pleased to have visited the cell in which President Mnangagwa was incarcerated and that is Cell number 44. For me it is so historic. I saw the records which indicated that he stayed in that cell for about six years which is a lot. It means they are our elders whose input we have to value. They were incarcerated for the liberation of the country and the independence we now enjoy and we have to appreciate that. We also applaud the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services for keeping it as a monument for everyone to come and see,” said Adv Mazungunye. @nyeve14
