A LARGE number of elderly men in prison during the first quarter of the year had committed rape crimes, among other sexual offences, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat).
In its 2023 Quarterly Prison Admissions and Discharges Statistics from the beginning of the year to March, ZimStat said figures provided by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) showed that 12 558 new prisoners were admitted to the country’s 48 jails. They comprised 93.2 percent males and 6.8 percent females.
This brought the total number of prisoners in the country’s jails to 23 982, of whom 18 156 (75.7 percent) were sentenced and 5 826 (24.3 percent) were yet to be sentenced. “More than a quarter, 28.1 percent of the crimes that led to the imprisonment of male prisoners aged 60 years and above were rape charges,” said the report.
Zimstat collects administrative data on prisoners from ZPCS for use in the production of reports to aid the country in planning as it shed light on the prison population, the number and profile of prisoners who get admitted into, and those who get discharged from the country’s prison facilities.
“Unemployed male prisoners were mostly admitted for theft (17.9 percent), assault (16.1 percent) and burglary (13.0 percent). Unemployed female prisoners were mostly admitted for theft (24.3 percent) and drugrelated offences (16.6 percent).
“The 12 558 prisoners admitted during the first quarter had committed 15 761 offences. Of these offences, 14 516 were committed by males and 1 245 by females. Most of the new prisoners were admitted into prison for committing theft, assaults, burglary, robbery (other) and domestic violence.
The main crimes committed by prisoners that had completed primary, some primary or no education were assault, theft and burglary, same as those that had completed lower secondary, some lower secondary, upper secondary or some upper secondary education, while prisoners that had completed tertiary education were mostly imprisoned for other theft and fraud.
Employed and self-employed males committed mostly theft, assault, burglary and robbery (without firearm). These crimes were also prevalent among subsistence farmers and unemployed prisoners. Unemployed female prisoners were most imprisoned for theft and drug related offences.
A total of 11 335 prisoners comprising 6 067 (53.5 percent) that were sentenced and 5 269 (46.5 percent) that were not yet sentenced were discharged from prison during the quarter. —New Ziana