Recently Detained, Alpha Media Holdings Legal Assistant Claims Cells Are Rat Infested

Being held  in police detention or prison in Zimbabwe is the worst thing that any one can be subjected to because of various inhumane experiences which include being starved of food, filthy surroundings, darkness and inadequate facilities.

The matter has been brought further to public attention by  the recent arrests of the NewsDay deputy editor Nqaba Matshazi and reporter Xolisani Ncube and Alpha Media Holdings legal assistant Sifikile Thabete.

Sifikile Thabete was held in detention at Harare Central Police Station overnight. She  alleges   that jail cells are filled with large   rats and that she did not use the blanket issued to her for use on concrete slabs used as bunk beds.

According to her, the  cell was dark and smelling heavily of  urine, and waste  coupled with  the smell of burning plastics.

She also heard fellow prisoners complain about failure to sleep because of lice which is why she abstained from using the allocated blankets until the 5 am freezing cold baths in  dirty surroundings. By Sibusiso Ngwenya

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