Zimbabweans have called for the release of Karoline Silver Mafra, a Brazilian woman who is stuck in Chikurubi Female Prison in Zimbabwe despite being acquitted of a drug trafficking charge last year.
Mafra has gained the attention of many Zimbabweans after she appeared in a video featuring the incarcerated Mai Titi at Chikurubi Female Prison in Zimbabwe went viral on social media.
Mafra is stuck in Chikurubi Female Prison in Zimbabwe due to a lack of funds and a passport to return home. Despite being found not guilty, she remains in prison due to her lawyer misplacing her passport and her inability to afford a plane ticket back to Brazil.
Social media users have expressed their sympathy for her situation, with some calling for her release and assistance to return home.
According to reports, <a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/2022/07/20/brazilian-drug-dealer-zimbabwean-couple-arrested-and-jailed/">Mafra and her colleagues were arrested</a> at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport in April 2022 after police received information that she was coming to Zimbabwe with drugs. The couple, who had been instructed by a Nigerian individual named Bobby to pick up Mafra, were interviewed by detectives and led them to their residence, where detectives discovered seven sachets of heroin hidden between fabric samples in their bedroom. The seized heroin was worth over ZW$1.6 million. Mafra was convicted of unlawfully dealing with dangerous drugs and was initially believed to have been sentenced to seven years in prison for drug trafficking. However, it was later reported that she and her supposed accomplice were acquitted of the charges.
Despite being acquitted, Mafra remains in prison due to her passport being misplaced by her lawyer and her inability to afford a plane ticket to Brazil. Sources suggest that Mafra is a fluent Shona speaker and is a kind person. She also has a son in Brazil who is almost six or seven years old.
Mafra’s case highlights the challenges faced by foreigners in the Zimbabwean legal system, and the difficulties of navigating bureaucratic processes in a foreign country. The case also raises questions about the treatment of individuals who are acquitted of charges but are still detained due to circumstances beyond their control. Mafra’s situation is a reminder of the importance of providing support to individuals who are in need, particularly those who are stranded in foreign countries without proper resources or documentation.
<h3><a href="https://www.pindula.co.zw/">More Pindula News</a></h3>

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Zimbabweans Call For Release Of Brazilian Woman Stuck At Chikurubi

Officials from the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC), on Saturday, visited Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison to investigate claims that former Tourism and Hospitality Industry Minister, Priscah Mupfumira is getting preferential treatment.
Jessie Majome, Frank Muchengwa and Kuziva Murapa requested to visit the prison cells, according to Mupfumira’s lawyer, Charles Chinyama. He said:
<blockquote>I confirm the presence at Chikurubi Female Prison of two commissioners known to me from Zacc this afternoon.
They indicated that their intention was to investigate whether my client was being given preferential treatment ahead of other female prisoners, but after talking to them, they drove off.</blockquote>
Majome said that they were blocked from visiting the cells and told to write a letter in advance requesting access to the institution. Said Majome:
We could not access it and were advised to write a letter so that we can fully assess the circumstances under which she is living generally.
<blockquote>We are concerned about the reports from the media (of preferential treatment) and we have an obligation to investigate.</blockquote>
Mupfumira was arrested in July at the instigation of the corruption watchdog on allegations of defrauding the National Social Security Authority (NSSA) of more than US$100 million.
She has been denied bail twice, the latest being this past Friday.
<h4>More: <a href="https://www.thestandard.co.zw/2019/08/18/zacc-probes-mupfumira-prison-conditions/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Standard</a></h4>

ZACC Officials Barred From Visiting Mupfumira

Chikurubi Female Prison faces a potential health risk after Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals threatened to withdraw services over a $600 000 debt owed by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS).
One of the resident doctors, Evidence Gaka told members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Women Affairs during a tour of the facility yesterday that Parirenyatwa Hospital was owed $567 000 by ZPCS and might not be able to attend to sick inmates as from next month.  One of the inmates that got a chance to speak with the committee complained  about poor food and sanitation and said:
<blockquote>We do not have meat, sugar ran out in December and beans also ran out last week. Toilets sanitisers and buckets are scarce. Sinks are not working and there is no running water and pipes are down.</blockquote>
More: <a href="https://www.newsday.co.zw/2017/03/22/chikurubi-female-prison-sitting-health-bomb/">NewsDay</a>

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