Police spokeperson Charity Munganga-Chanda
By DELPHINE ZULU and SYLVIA MWEETWA –
TWO male remandees at Lusaka Central Prison have allegedly been caught having sex by fellow inmates within prison cells.
The inmates, upon finding the two in the act, decided to raise alarm with their supervisors who quickly rushed to the scene and also witnessed what transpired before reporting the matter to higher authorities for quick action.
The officers were then instructed to rush the two inmates to the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) for examination.
Police spokesperson Charity Munganga-Chanda confirmed this in an interview yesterday and identified the duo as Emmanuel Zulu and Mulenga Mwansa, both aged 25.
Ms Chanda said the incident occurred on Christmas Day around 23:00 hours.
She said police had since instituted investigations into the matter to determine the next course of action.
She said her office received the report of alleged sodomy through the UTH Police Post.
“Both of them are remandees at Lusaka Central Prison, popularly known as Chimbokaila. We received a report of sodomy on December 25, 2013 which occurred in the night through UTH Police Post.
“We have instituted investigations into the act against the order of nature and I can say that we have reached an advanced stage. At the moment
I will not go into what we have established because we are still conducting investigations,” she said.
Recently, there has been a heated debate on whether to introduce condoms in prisons to prevent sexually transmitted diseases as homosexual acts are allegedly rampant in the country’s jails.
Inmates at Kamfinsa State Prison in Kitwe recently objected to the proposal to introduce condoms as that may promote homosexual acts.
Meanwhile, some prisoners serving various sentences at Kabwe’s Mukobeko Maximum Security Prison have appealed to people with hidden motives to stop using prisons to champion homosexuality in the country.
The inmates talked to said it was sad that some people were deliberately trying to promote homosexuality using prisoners.
Akumpe Kafunda, who spoke on behalf of other inmates at Mukobeko, said while there could be reports of homosexuality in prison, it did not mean that the practice was being done by everyone.
“We may be incarcerated here but we are shocked that people with hidden agendas are using prisoners to push their agenda.
“We appeal to Government to remain firm on this matter and those championing the calls should come out in the open instead of using prisoners,” he said.
And Commissioner of Prisons Percy Chato has said the Zambia Prisons Service recognised the existence of sodomy in prisons but the challenge was to know whether it was forced or consensual sex.
He said a survey on HIV/AIDS in Zambian prisons in July 2011 indicated that 1.6 per cent of prisoners agreed that they had sex with someone while in prison.
Mr Chato further said the issue of sodomy and distribution of condoms in prisons required further investigations.
He said in 2012, 881 prisoners were put on anti-retroviral therapy, 182 on tuberculosis treatment, while 8,048 underwent voluntary counselling and testing.
