By Kuda Pembere
An offence category involving alcohol, tobacco and other controlled substances was among the top three crimes leading to the imprisonment of women in Zimbabwe during the second quarter of 2026, according to the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT).
ZIMSTAT’s 2026 Second Quarter Prison Admissions and Discharges Statistics report shows that assault was the leading offence among female prisoners, accounting for 23.8% of cases, followed by theft at 21.7% and unlawful acts involving alcohol, tobacco or other controlled substances at 10.2%.
Unlawful acts involving controlled drugs or precursors accounted for a further 8.9% of offences among female prisoners, while fraud accounted for 4.5%.
ZIMSTAT said the pattern among female prisoners was broadly consistent with the offences recorded among new prisoners generally.
“The crimes/offences for which the prisoners were imprisoned are shown in Figure 4.1. Most of the new prisoners were admitted into prison for committing assaults, theft, burglary, unlawful acts involving controlled drugs or precursors, and robbery (without a firearm),” the agency said.
“The crimes that new female prisoners mostly committed were assault, theft and unlawful acts involving controlled drugs or precursors.”
Among all new prisoners, assault was the most common offence at 23.2%, followed by theft at 19.2%, burglary at 7.6%, unlawful acts involving controlled drugs or precursors at 5.9% and robbery without a firearm at 5.5%.
A total of 16,146 new prisoners were admitted to Zimbabwe’s prisons during the second quarter, comprising 14,913 males and 1,233 females. Male prisoners accounted for 92.4% of admissions, while females accounted for 7.6%.
The 16,146 prisoners had committed a total of 18,719 offences. Of these, 17,353 were committed by males and 1,366 by females.
The national imprisonment rate stood at 161 prisoners per 100,000 people. The rate was 323 per 100,000 among males and 11 per 100,000 among females.
The overall prison population increased from 24,072 at the end of the first quarter of 2026 to 25,990 at the end of the second quarter.
The male prison population rose from 23,250 to 25,057, while the female prison population increased from 822 to 933.
The increase in the overall prison population occurred despite a decline in new admissions. New admissions fell from 17,391 in the first quarter to 16,146 in the second quarter. Male admissions fell from 16,056 to 14,913, while female admissions declined from 1,335 to 1,233.
ZIMSTAT said most prisoners in the prison population had been sentenced.
Of the 25,990 prisoners, 22,008, or 84.7%, were sentenced, while 3,982, or 15.3%, were unsentenced. Among female prisoners, 728, or 78%, were sentenced and 205, or 22%, were unsentenced.
Among new admissions, however, the majority were unsentenced. ZIMSTAT said 75.9% of newly admitted male prisoners and 77.8% of female prisoners were admitted as unsentenced prisoners.
Young adults accounted for the largest share of new admissions. The 25-29 age group had the highest proportion of new prisoners among both sexes, followed by those aged 20-24.
“Beyond the peak (25-29 age group), admission numbers decline steadily with increasing age for both sexes, indicating a clear downward trend in incarceration among older populations,” ZIMSTAT said.
However, the pattern of offences among older male prisoners differed from that of younger prisoners.
Among male prisoners aged 65 and above, rape and assault were the most common offences, each accounting for 18.2% of offences in that age group.
Among male prisoners aged 20-54, assault, theft, burglary, unlawful acts involving controlled drugs or precursors and robbery without a firearm were the most frequent offences.
Across all male prisoners, assault accounted for 4,015 offence counts, while rape accounted for 743.
The figures show that while the number of new admissions declined between the first and second quarters, the overall prison population continued to increase, with the female prison population also rising during the period.
