Prisoners have no fundamental rights and cannot vote in elections: Mnangagwa

Minister of Justice and Vice President,  Emmerson Mnangagwa has said that convicted people who are behind bars are not eligible to vote in next year’s harmonised elections as they have forfeited their fundamental rights. Mnangagwa was responding to a question during Parliament’s question and answer session yesterday. Said Mnangagwa,

The concept of prison is that once you have committed a crime you forfeit the rights of a free person.

So, if you are a prisoner all these fundamental rights which everybody enjoys as a citizen are now forfeited so our prisoners do not vote.

This comes after three MDC-T activists, Last Maengahama, Yvonne Musarurwa and Tungamirai Madzokere, who are serving 20-year sentences each, filed a High Court challenge seeking to be allowed to vote in the 2018 elections.

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