Mozambique: Commission of inquiry says there is no sexual exploitation in women’s prison – DW

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Mozambique: Commission of inquiry says there is no sexual exploitation in women’s prison – DW

5:00 CAT | 08 Jul 2021

File photo: DW

A commission of inquiry created to investigate sexual abuse in Ndlavela prison, Maputo, concludes that inmates were raped, but that the crime [forced prostitution] outside the prison alleged by the Public Integrity Centre (CIP) did not take place.

The commission set up by the Mozambican government also found deficiencies in the CIP investigation.

The commission announced this Wednesday (June 7) that it had interviewed 53 prisoners, who denied that inmates were taken out of the prison to be abused, and who furthermore did not recognise the inmates shown in the CIP video.

“None of the inmates were able to identify or recognise the faces that we showed them from the video featured in the exposé,” commission rapporteur Elisa Samuel said.

Sexual practices with inmates

According to the report, the interviewed inmates also alleged that, on some occasions, prison guards and men from outside the penitentiary, in collusion with those responsible for the establishment, facilitated sexual acts with the inmates.

“What happened here is that there are these daughters of the chief man or chief women who got involved with the men who came here, who were put inside by the chief women of the chief. They met with them in the big sewing room, where there was a mattress and a stove,” Elisa Samuel explained.

The report classified the abuses in jail as acts of torture, and cruel and inhumane treatment, and recommends that the Ministry of Justice “hold disciplinarily accountable those involved and initiate disciplinary proceedings against all those who have proven to have committed any act that violates the human rights of inmates, including sexual exploitation and abuse”.

Rights in case of abuse

The report further recommends that all prisoners should have the right not to be sexually abused and the right to complain in the event of abuse, in addition to “ensuring that all reports of sexual abuse are investigated independently, promptly and completely in accordance with the best practices in investigating sexual abuse, including follow-up actions on reported cases”.

The Ndlavela case was triggered by the CIP which, during six months of investigation, spoke to inmates who were allegedly subject to forced prostitution. Researcher Borges Nhamire claimed it was “a scheme set up years ago”.

“One of the inmates explained that she has the names of people who said that they are ahead of this, but they said that when younger inmates arrive, the ones with lighter skin are preferred, and there are older ones who make a sort of identification,” Nhamire claimed.

Source: Deutsche Welle