MDC-T legislator Jessie Majome has called on the government to take concrete and urgent steps to avert a "brewing humanitarian crisis" in the country's prisons.
Majome made the call on Tuesday after justice ministry and prison officials revealed that at least 100 inmates have died this year at the country's 55 facilities.
The deaths were poor nutrition-related, according to Virginia Mabhiza and Agrey Machingauta, from the justice ministry and prisons services.
The two officials told the parliamentary portfolio committee that the country's prisons were experiencing serious food shortages because it they were not receiving enough money to source food for the 18,460 prisoners.
They told parliamentarians that although $1.2 million was required monthly for food for the prisoners, only $300,000 was being allocated.
As a result, prisoners were no longer receiving the required three meals a day, a situation which had led to nutrition-related illnesses and deaths.
MDC-T Harare West legislator and shadow justice minister Majome, who is also the MDC-T shadow minister for justice, said she was shocked by the report "because it is reminiscent of the humanitarian disaster experienced in 2007/2008.
"At the time prisoners were dying like flies at the rate of about eight per day, and as deputy justice minister at the time, I helped to come up with a situation to alleviate this disaster.
"And this included appealing to humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross who had to contend with a lot of unnecessary bureaucracy but finally stepped in and assisted with food as well as management training for the prison services. As a result the death rate fell by about 93%," Majome said.
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