Visit someone in prison or remand

What you'll usually need

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• The prisoner's full name, and the name of the prison if you know it
• Your national ID or passport, in case the prison asks who you are
• Any food, clothes, bedding or medicine you want to hand in, packed so officers can check it

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Steps

1. Find out which prison. People on remand are held in a prison on a court's order. Ask their lawyer, the police station that arrested them, or the court where they appeared.
2. If you can't find them. Anyone can ask the High Court to order the authorities to say where a detained person is. The Legal Aid Directorate can help if you can't afford a lawyer. In Harare, call Call 0242 797910.
3. Check visiting times before you travel. The officer in charge of each prison decides on visits under the prison law and rules. Phone the prison or ask at the gate first.
4. Know who may visit. A spouse or partner, relatives, a religious counsellor, and the prisoner's lawyer and doctor all have a right to visit. Other people can visit too, but the prison can put reasonable limits on their visits.
5. Expect to be searched. Prison officers may search any visitor. If you refuse a search, you will be turned away.
6. Hand items to the officers, not the prisoner. Giving a prisoner anything, or taking anything from them, without permission is a crime. The penalty is a fine, up to six months in prison, or both.
7. Remand prisoners: you can bring necessities. A prisoner waiting for trial may receive food, clothes, bedding and other necessities from outside, as allowed by the head of ZPCS. Without them, they get normal prison food and clothes.
8. Convicted prisoners: ask first. The officer in charge may allow food, non-alcoholic drinks, bedding, clothes and reading material after a strict check. Letters are allowed, but prison staff may read them.
9. Lawyers can see their clients. Before and during a trial, the prison must give the lawyer proper space to interview the prisoner, and an interpreter if needed.

Good to know

• ZPCS holds Family Weeks, when families can spend longer with prisoners in an open space. One was held at Harare Remand Prison in late April 2025. Ask the prison when the next one is.
• In April 2025 the Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission found that the phones at Harare Remand Prison weren't working. It also found that medicine brought by relatives took a long time to reach prisoners. Tell the officers clearly when you hand in medicine.
• When a prisoner arrives, the prison lists and keeps any money, clothes and other belongings it takes from them. It gives them back when the prisoner is released.
• Every prisoner has a right to decent conditions, including enough food, washing facilities and medical treatment, paid for by the State.
• You can complain about prison officers to the Zimbabwe Independent Complaints Commission, because the law counts the prison service as a security service. The Zimbabwe Human Rights Commission can also inspect prisons.