Despite press reports quoting British sources in Salisbury to the effect that all political prisoners other than martial law detainees have been released, the IDAF has received information that as many as 4,500 convicted political prisoners may still be in custody, together with significant numbers of detainees held both under the martial law and emergency regulations.
The discrepancy apparently arises from different definitions of the term "political prisoner". The IDAF has always maintained that all persons sentenced to prison terms under the Law and Order (Maintenance) Act or other security legislation, or for other offences which clearly indicate their involvement in the armed liberation struggle, should be regarded as political prisoners. Lord Soames's administration, however, appears to have taken over a definition used by Bishop Muzorewa in the last days of his premiership of Zimbabwe-Rhodesia - namely: one admitting that the regime does hold a number of persons convicted of "offences of a political nature", but maintaining that others sentenced to prison terms in connection with the liberation war have been guilty of "crimes of violence" and hence do not qualify as "political" cases. (For most of the period since UDI, the regime denied that it held any political prisoners of any description). In other words, Lord Soames appears to be guided by the regime in deciding which of the prisoners in Rhodesia's gaols are "political" and hence qualify for release.
A significant number of convicted political prisoners were released by the regime itself shortly before the British Governor's arrival. On 21 November 1979 the Minister of Law and Order Mr Francis Zindoga announced that a number of convicted political prisoners and detainees were going to be released within the next few days. Speaking at a press conference on his return from London the next day, Bishop Muzorewa said that by the following weekend, "no more than 19 hard-core political prisoners" would remain.
It was revealed that in fact a total of 1,377 political prisoners were due to be released, while 424 other prisoners convicted under security legislation had already been freed since June 1979. Of the 1,377, around 70-80 are believed to have been persons detained indefinitely under the Emergency Regulations. The remainder, around 1,300, were convicted political prisoners, most of whom were in November 1979 serving sentences under sections 24 and 51 of the Law and Order (Maintenance) Act - aiding and abetting, or failing to report, guerillas, and attempting to go for guerilla training.
These releases, and action subsequently taken by Lord Soames to review the cases of persons sentenced for offences covered by the Governor's amnesty ordinance with a view to releasing them "so far as this can safely be done", still leave the status of persons convicted under other sections of the Law and Order (Maintenance) Act in doubt. The other sections of the Act which most frequently feature in political trials are 37 (possession of arms of war); 38 (arson and the use of explosives); and 50 (acts of terrorism and sabotage). All these carry the death penalty and concern offences which are presumably construed by the regime as "crimes of violence". In fact the prisoners concerned are in many cases guerillas captured in the field and who should therefore properly be regarded as prisoners of war, or persons found guilty by association with guerillas but who did not themselves fire fatal shots or otherwise commit injury.
A figure of 4,500 convicted political prisoners remaining in custody indicates that political trials have been taking place on a far more extensive scale than previously known. (In September 1979 the IDAF knew the names of 1,503 convicted political prisoners). In particular, it would appear that the special courts martial were extremely active during their 12 months of operations.
