ZIMBABWE Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Commissioner-General Retired Major-General Paradzai Zimondi will retire from the top prisons post in November this year after 22 years of service which began in 1998 when he was 51.
In an interview last night, Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi confirmed the development and said Maj-Gen Zimondi (Rtd) would go on three months leave from July 31 pending retirement on November 1.
“We are indebted to the services he offered during his tenure in office,” he said.
“Commissioner-General Zimondi has worked tirelessly and has exhibited high level of loyalty to his country before, during and after independence.
“His contribution to the nation is unmatched.”
Maj-Gen Zimondi (Rtd) joined the Zimbabwe Prison Services as a Deputy Commissioner in 1997 and in July the same year undertook a study of British, Danish and Swedish prison systems.
In 1998, he was appointed Acting Commissioner following the retirement of Mr Langton Chigwida the previous year.
Mr Chigwida had been at the helm of the prison service since 1984.
Maj-Gen Zimondi (Rtd) was appointed as substantive commissioner on April 1, 1998.
He joined the liberation struggle and received military training at Mgagao Training Camp, Tanzania in 1974.
He was posted to Chimoio, Mozambique, where he assumed the position of a trainer.
After independence in 1980, Maj-Gen Zimondi (Rtd) was attested into the Zimbabwe National Army as a colonel and rose through the ranks to become Major-General.
He held various commanding posts in the army, including being Commander of Presidential Guard.
He helped to set up a formidable prisons service in the country through improving the delivery of health systems in prisons across the country.
