RIGHTS BEHIND BARS A Study of Prison Conditions In Zimbabwe 2018 right to be treated in a manner, and kept in conditions, that take account of the child’s age. Unfortunately, anecdotal evidence demonstrated that notwithstanding the unique nature of Whawha Young Offenders Prison, the institution operated like any other prison, with no special safeguards for the young inmates. In essence, there was no difference between Whawha Young Offenders Prison and other custodial institutions except that it housed young offenders.121 Since its inception, Whahwa has been operating without a policy for young offenders. The OfficerIn-Charge had wide discretion and would often adopt ‘policies’ that she considered effective for the young offenders. In addition, the administration was confronted a number of challenges with regards to rehabilitation, chief among them was the shortage of the requisite number of officers specialising in rehabilitation of young offenders – ie social workers, psychologists, counsellors and so on.122 Worse still, the education and training of young offenders, which could play an important role in the rehabilitation of young offenders, are not taken seriously at the young offenders’ prison. In their interview with the Juvenile Section Officer at Harare Remand Prison, ZACRO and the Forum established that although the cells were generally clean and not congested, there were no toiletries and cleaning detergents. As for access to education, reports indicated that there were no educational programmes and learning facilities for juveniles at the remand prison despite the fact that some children were being detained for years without attending court.123 Considered holistically, these conditions cannot be said to be consistent with the child’s age and it was clear that the State had mainly achieved mere separation between youth offenders and adult offenders. Yet, the conditions of detention should promote rehabilitation to ensure that the child is prepared for eventual re-integration into the community. 121 122 123 ZACRO and the Forum, Whahwa Prison Monitoring Visit Report, 2. ZACRO and the Forum, Whahwa Prison Monitoring Visit Report, 2. ZACRO and the Forum, Harare Remand Prison Monitoring Visit Report, 1 and 5. 35