We are seriously disturbed by a tragedy that left 5 prisoners dead and 30 others seriously injured after trigger happy prison officials opened fire at the defenseless captives for merely demanding food, barely three weeks after the abduction of a human rights defender.

Circumstances are that about 100 prisoners organized to protest against inhuman treatment by prison officials including canning, starvation, denial of medication and use of abusive language.

Having been arrested and detained several times in Zimbabwe’s prisons I was not surprised when the news of prison riots surfaced.

There is massive starvation in Zimbabwe’s prisons and cases of malnutrition are rampant. Detainees are given rotten bread and a cup of hot water without sugar. There is no lunch but supper where prisoners are served with a plate of sadza and boiled vegetables.

This situation is coupled with the abusive manner of prison guards who often force prisoners to strip naked during searching operations.

The hostels are often dusty, exposing prisoners to respiratory and infectious diseases. It is against this background that prisoners ran amok on this fateful day.

We still maintain that there was no basis whatsoever to kill non-combatant prisoners. Killing was never an option.

The government should not have waited for prisoners to revolt but should have prioritized their welfare.

A government’s ability to deliver is measured by its ability to sustain the lives of the vulnerable including prisoners, women, children and the disabled.

If a government goes to the extent of killing the hungry and abducting the jobless, it is indicative of failure.

The government should not have stooped so low as to kill unarmed prisoners and kidnapping the hungry.

The human rights of prisoners were seriously threatened and the government must admit failure by making a public apology and not to come up with all the excuses for unwarranted murder.

We see no difference between our government and Boko Haram military group under the current circumstances.

* Danmore Chuma is Coordinator for the Youth of Zimbabwe for Transparency and Progress.