Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s First Lady, Auxillia Mnangagwa Friday donated groceries to Khami Maximum Prison which is located outside Bulawayo.
The donation was made through the First Lady’s Angel of Hope Foundation and includes mealie-meal, rice, sugar beans, and bars of soap.
Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Judith Ncube handed over the donation to Deputy Officer Commanding Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services Bulawayo Province Assistant Commissioner Cleopas Moyo.
Speaking after receiving the donation, Asst Comm Moyo commended the first lady for remembering the usually forgotten prisoners. He said:
We want to acknowledge the donation by the First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa, we want to give a special thanks to our mother for embracing us with love and care by extending a valuable donation to us as an institution through her foundation, the Angel of Hope Foundation. The donation consists of various food items and laundry soap. These will go a long way in meeting our dietary needs and the soap will assist inmates in washing their clothes and also bathing.
We are proud of our mother and she will always be our pride. She is leading by example by showing that loved ones who are under incarceration are always a part of us and we should not forsake them as a community. Inmates are not only the responsibility of the ZPCS but society has a role to play in positively contributing towards their successful rehabilitation and welfare. I urge stakeholders to take a cue from umama as inmates have a lot of needs.
This is happening when stakeholders have expressed concern over the state of local prisons. Speaking soon after his release from Chikurubi Maximum Prison, award-winning journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono said the food was substandard.
He added that prisons were overcrowded as cells meant for 16 people were sometimes found with about 100 inmates. He also said there were inadequate facilities for inmates.
More: Chronicle
