New Zimbabwean law allows prisoners to go home to sleep with their partners while serving jail term.
This is a new correctional policy beginning to reshape life inside Zimbabwe’s prisons, as authorities confirm that selected inmates can now receive temporary leave to return home to be intimate with their partners. The initiative, which allows private family time commonly referred to as conjugal rights, is part of a pilot programme designed to strengthen family ties and support rehabilitation rather than punishment alone.
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service ZPCS says the scheme reflects a broader shift toward corrective justice. The trial phase is currently underway at Marondera Female Open Prison and Connemara Prison, where inmates with records of good conduct are being considered for the visits. Prison officials describe the programme as an early component of a wider parole framework that is gradually being introduced across the system.
Speaking on the development, ZPCS spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Meya Khanyezi emphasised that family involvement is central to genuine rehabilitation. She explained that maintaining intimate and emotional bonds helps prepare inmates for reintegration into society after serving their sentences.
“The upcoming parole system will also address conjugal rights for inmates,” Ass Comm Khanyezi said. “Many in Marondera Female and Connemara Prisons have already begun to enjoy these rights while serving their sentences. Conjugal rights will be at the comfort of their homes not in prisons.” the Spokesperson added.
