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The Constitution of Zimbabwe specifically outlaws same sex relationships, a welcome departure from the old one that was vague on the abomination.

This was one of the more contentious provisions of the supreme law at its drafting stage with Zanu-PF steadfast in demanding a section clearly outlawing homosexuality as it seeks to upset the natural order of things. MDCs, under pressure from their Western sponsors, sought to smuggle it in and after Zanu-PF exposed their machinations, wanted the constitution to simply be silent about it.  The MDCs’ position was despite the fact that, during the constitution outreach stage, Zimbabweans had demanded a specific clause against the practice.

So yes, our constitution, endorsed by 95 percent of voters in the March 2013 referendum, does not permit these relationships. It goes without saying that the three million-plus who voted “Yes” to the draft did so not only for this anti-gay clause but also for the indigenous economic empowerment and rights to agricultural land that the constitution guarantees.

Yet, we have a proposal by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services Commissioner-General, Retired Major General Paradzai Zimondi for the government to consider implementing a policy that actually promotes same sex relationships in wilful violation of the constitution.

Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Fourth Annual Zimbabwe Uniformed Forces Health Services Conference in Victoria Falls on Wednesday, he said distributing condoms among inmates could help curb the spread of HIV in prisons.

“As people who are in charge of prisons, we have tried to issue condoms to inmates in prisons but they quizzed why we were doing so when they don’t share cells with women,” he said. “We need a legal instrument so that when we say we want to issue condoms to inmates, there is a legislation to base on. Please, may you discuss this issue and if there is any justification then we can lobby Parliament. We have a problem as people who take care of prisoners . . . please help us make such recommendations on whether it should be mandatory and compulsory to test inmates for HIV and Aids and also to provide them with condoms. That’s an issue that can be discussed to help policy-makers and I am giving you the expressway to discuss this issue and maybe make recommendations in this meeting or in your next year conference. I am glad that there are some sister countries here . . . we don’t know how they do it in their countries but in Zimbabwe we wish this matter could be debated.”

The HIV prevalence rate in jails is 28 percent, almost double the national average of 15 percent.  This high rate coupled with the consequent morbidity, and possibly mortality caused by Aids-related illnesses puts greater pressure on the already limited resources the ZPCS has. Therefore, Rtd Maj Gen Zimondi is naturally scratching his head on measures that can be taken to address the challenge and suggests mandatory HIV testing on prisoners and distributing condoms as possible solutions.

We agree with him on his call for debate on compulsory HIV testing, but totally disagree with him on his suggestion for condoms to be distributed.

What will Zimbabwean society be condoning, nay, promoting when it equips its prisons authority with a law that permits it to allocate condoms to a male inmate who shares a cell with another man?  There are no prizes for guessing that we would be actively telling prisoners to engage in same sex relationships. It is as simple as that.

This reminds us of the debate that was sparked three years ago by Chief Gambiza of Chiwundura in the Midlands when he called on the government to distribute condoms to children at schools as a way to curb the spread of HIV among sexually active teenagers.

Our society frowns upon homosexuality, as it does upon pre-marital sex, and it is a crime for anyone to engage in it. We understand though that the crime has been reported as happening behind bars and many men have been arrested for that, brought to court and have had their prison terms extended. But if condoms were to be made available, Zimbabwe would have given prisoners of perverted sexual orientation a licence to practise it.

Yes, because we cannot give a condom to male prisoner who lives with another man and then condemn them when they use it for the purpose it was made.

When President Mugabe regularly attacks gays as worse than pigs and dogs he would be speaking for a nation that he leads, a nation that is ardently opposed to same sex relationships.

We therefore resoundingly state that like in schools, condoms have no place in our jails and any inmate caught in the act must know that they are committing a crime and must bear the consequences. The law sends offenders to prison as punishment for committing crime and Zimbabwe cannot then give them a device to commit more crime.

Even prisoners themselves, as Rtd Maj Gen Zimondi says, see no logic in the authority giving them condoms when they don’t share cells with women. So we mustn’t worry ourselves about that.

However, we think there is merit in Zimbabweans debating whether mandatory HIV testing is not necessary to enable the prisons department to plan effectively on ways to promote the health of prisoners.