SADC drools over Zimbabwe's posh prisons

A SADC delegation visited Zimbabwe for a week to study correctional management, touring Mazowe, Chikurubi Maximum, and Marondera, and noting security, management, and inmate enterprises. Officials presented reforms built on the open prison model approved in 1996, with Connemara opening in 2000 and the Marondera female facility launched in June 2021, where inmates wear clothing, cook meals, pursue study and training, and take home leave. At Chikurubi, guests saw records, a library with laptops, a studio, and court links by video, and they visited the former execution chamber turned museum after abolition of the death penalty. Regional officers reviewed the Corrections and Prisons Strategic Action Plan 2021 to 2025 and explored inmate enterprises, post release job partnerships, gender balanced trade training, and structured restorative justice. Delegates concluded that these measures strengthen rehabilitation, family ties, and reintegration, and they viewed Zimbabwe as a regional reference point for humane and effective prisons.