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A Mutorashanga man who was jailed for rape while in his teens was yesterday set free with a damaged spine blamed on abuse by prison guards.
Liberty Mudyiwa (now 22) from Caeser Mine was imprisoned in 2004 when he was convicted of rape and served five years and eight months.
His release was not short of drama after officials from an NGO that had offered to take him to his rural home were blocked from doing so at the last minute.
The Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS), which had sought assistance in the first place, ended up using its own transport.
Describing how Mudyiwa got injured, sources said on January 15, 2008, the young man was forced to carry a huge log.
“He did bring it to the attention of the authorities that the load was too heavy for him but he was forced to carry it all the same,” said a source.
“He was very unfortunate because he broke his spinal code from carrying out that task.”
The sources said Mudyiwa was only taken to hospital four days later after relatives who visited him expressed concern over his condition.
“At hospital, he could not be attended to immediately and was therefore advised to come back later, which he did on the February 6, 2008.
“Unfortunately, he was to receive the devastating news that he had delayed a little too long for his condition to deteriorate into what the doctors called spinal shock.”
Mudyiwa has been confined to a wheelchair since that day and he served the rest of his sentence in that condition.
Sources said the cash-strapped ZPS had requested an NGO which cannot be identified, with the transportation of Mudyiwa back to his village.
But the decision was reversed at the last minute after the ZPS said it had found a vehicle to transport Mudyiwa.
“We smell a rat,” a source said. “They are probably afraid of having the matter spill into the public.
“ZPS bosses are the ones who requested the NGO to assist and one wonders why they decided to cancel the arrangement at the last minute.”
ZPS spokesperson Priscilla Mutembo yesterday confirmed Mudyiwa’s release but said she would have all the details about the case on Monday.
BY JENNIFER DUBE
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