Pregnant Inmate Takes Government To Court Over Poor Maternal Care In Prison

A woman detained at Chikurubi Female Prison has filed an urgent application at the High Court, seeking an order compelling the government to provide adequate maternal health care facilities for pregnant inmates.

Melissa Messe Chiyangwa, who is currently on remand for theft charges following her arrest on 23 June 2025, is petitioning the court through her lawyers from the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR).

She argues that her constitutional rights to health, life, and dignity are being threatened by the inadequate medical services available to pregnant women in prison.

In her application, filed by human rights lawyers Tinashe Chinopfukutwa and Kelvin Kabaya on 1 August 2025, Chiyangwa said she has a high-risk pregnancy and has not received proper antenatal care since her incarceration.

She revealed that her scheduled appointment with a private gynaecologist on 26 June was missed and that the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) failed to make alternative arrangements.

According to her affidavit, prison officials at Chikurubi informed her that antenatal visits to Parirenyatwa Hospital are only conducted on Tuesdays.

However, because her court dates have frequently clashed with the hospital visits, she has been unable to receive consistent care.

She further stated that no provisions were made for her to attend the hospital on alternate days.

Chiyangwa also complained that prison clinic staff have only offered her paracetamol for severe back pain, contrary to her gynaecologist’s advice that she should be under the care of a specialist.

She was only taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital on 29 July, where a doctor expressed concern about a possible case of excessive amniotic fluid and recommended immediate scans.

However, she was returned to prison without the scans being performed due to broken equipment at the hospital. She was told to return on 6 August.

In her court petition, Chiyangwa is seeking an order compelling ZPCS to assign a dedicated gynaecologist to Chikurubi Female Prison within seven days of the order being granted.

She also wants the court to declare the denial of access to private medical practitioners a violation of her constitutional rights.

Chiyangwa argues that the conduct of prison officials, including Officer-in-Charge Moses Chihobvu, the ZPCS Commissioner-General, and the Sister-in-Charge, violates section 50(5)(c)(v) of the Constitution, which guarantees the right of detainees to communicate with and be visited by a doctor of their choice at their own expense.

She also cites section 76(1), which provides for the right to basic reproductive health services, and section 50(5)(d), which obliges the state to ensure conditions of detention that uphold human dignity and include adequate medical treatment.