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NewsDay

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Zimbabwean PM’s wife humiliated

Politics
There was drama at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison Wednesday when the PM's wife, was almost barred from visiting the 29 incarcerated MDC-T activists.

THERE was drama at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison yesterday when Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s wife Elizabeth Macheka, was almost barred from visiting incarcerated MDC-T youth leader Solomon Madzore and 28 other party activists.

Report by Veneranda Langa

Macheka was accompanied by a delegation of MDC-T leaders including Home Affairs co-minister Theresa Makone, deputy ministers Obert Gutu (Justice) and Murisi Zwizwai (Information and Publicity) and Chikomo Senator Morgan Komichi.

However, the delegation was humiliated as they were told in no uncertain terms that the Premier’s wife could not be allowed in although the rest of them had been cleared to visit the imprisoned MDC-T members.

Macheka was kept waiting in her limousine for nearly an hour while Makone and other ministers tried to negotiate their way in with the prison officials.

Makone could be heard saying to the prison officials: “If it were Zanu PF ministers visiting the prison, were you going to do this? Why did you arrest the MDC-T activists when you do not want them to be seen because they have rights to be visited from 9am to 1500hours?” After Makone’s futile attempt to negotiate their way, Gutu pleaded with them. He later told NewsDay they had been denied entry on the basis that they had not been cleared by prison authorities.

“I personally wrote a letter to Prisons Commissioner Paradzayi Zimondi advising him of (Mrs) Tsvangirai’s visit to Harare Remand Prison and Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison and it had an official ministerial letterhead and was hand-delivered to Zimondi. I was taken aback when we were denied entry and embarrassed in a big way. The prison officers at the gate were not even aware of the visit,” Gutu said.

It took Gutu almost an hour to secure entry into the prison, but the delegation was told they should leave their vehicles and walk a distance of about two kilometres from the gate to the prison complex.

It was while Macheka, who had high-heeled shoes, was in the process of changing into flat heels that Gutu successfully pleaded with prison officials to allow them to use their vehicles to get in.

Inside the prison complex they were also made to wait for over 30 minutes before they had access to the prisoners, but Macheka said she was used to rough treatment. “They think they are irking me, but what they do not know is that I am actually used to rough treatment and I do not know much about VIP treatment,” she told her team.

She prayed for the prisoners who told her they were well and that their incarceration had strengthened them to spread the “MDC-T gospel” in prison.

“Tell the PM that we are together in the struggle; congratulate him for the 13-year anniversary and tell him we have seen the prophetess (Mai Tsvangirai) he has sent us,” Madzore said. Macheka had prayed for their release and in her address to them she said they should pray three times per day, while other MDC-T members would do likewise.

She distributed packed food and drinks to the activists and left $100 to buy chicken for female prisoners at Chikurubi.

At Harare Remand Prison, Macheka also prayed for the MDC-T activists, but a prison superintendent, only identified as Chibaya, would not allow her to leave cooked food for them.

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