Prostitution racket exposed at women’s prison in Mozambique

MAPUTO, Mozambique 

Guards at the Maputo Special Penitentiary for Women (EPEMM), better known as the Ndlavela Women’s Prison, are forcing women inmates into prostitution, according to an investigation undertaken by the anti-corruption NGO, the Centre for Public Integrity (CIP).

CIP investigated this scandal for five months, and CIP investigators, pretending to be clients interested in buying prisoners for sex, infiltrated the clandestine network operated by prison guards.

CIP used hidden cameras in its investigation, and it displayed photographic and video evidence of the racket at a Maputo press conference on Tuesday. 

The faces and voices of the abused women were digitally altered to make it impossible to identify them. 

But CIP says it has kept the original film and photographs in a safe place, and is willing to turn them over to the legal authorities for an official investigation of the scandal.

On three occasions, the CIP investigators requested young prisoners serving sentences at the Ndlavela Women’s Prison, supposedly for sexual relations. 

These were delivered in exchange for paying money to prison guards. The real purpose of these meetings, however, was to gather information on how the network of sexual exploitation of prisoners operates.

The guards take the women forced into prostitution outside the prison to a nearby guest house. They negotiate in advance how much the client will pay and for how long.

Mobile phone text messages show haggling over the price. When a CIP investigator asked for two women, he was told they would cost 15,000 meticais each. 

Only relatively rich people could possibly afford such sums for a brief sexual encounter.

The women the clients usually want are the young, thin, and relatively light skinned inmates. One SMS read “The younger ones are those most in demand and are the most expensive. Tell your friend to increase the amount”.

The money is shared between the guards involved in the scheme to take the inmates out of the prison. On each of the three occasions that the CIP investigators asked for inmates, the price paid was different.

“Generally, the inmates are taken out of the prison at the weekends and on public holidays. But in some cases, they are taken out in the middle of the week”, says the CIP report. “The day is chosen largely in accordance with the availability both of the guard and of the client. The inmate is treated merely as merchandise”.

The abused women told the CIP investigators they did not want to become prostitutes, but had no choice in the matter. One of the women interviewed by CIP, Maria (not her real name) said that during her two years incarcerated in the prison, she had been obliged repeatedly to have sexual relations with clients. “Whether I want to or not, I have to go out”, she said.

She says that she was brutally attacked when she refused to leave the cells to prostitute herself. “I ended up in hospital the following day”, she said. After this assault, she never refused to meet clients again.

Not all inmates are forced into prostitution. Maria said the guards only choose the most vulnerable. “They don’t accept those who are supported by their families”, she said. “For those who have no family support, which is my case, the situation is very difficult”.

CIP discovered that the inmates who refuse to prostitute themselves are not only assaulted, but they also do not receive enough food. This means that those who do not have the support of relatives easily yield to pressure from the guards, and go into prostitution.

The guards themselves also demand sex with inmates they find attractive. One of them, Marta (also a pseudonym) said that in the first week after her arrest, prison guards demanded to have sex with her and another prisoner. They both refused. Because of this, the guards beat them so severely that they both needed medical care.

Since she is one of the youngest women in the prison, Marta is taken out frequently to prostitute herself. “I go out two to three times a week. I only rest when I’m having my period”, she said.

CIP also spoke with four former inmates who have served sentences at Ndlavela but are now free. They confirmed the existence of an organised prostitution racket run by the guards.

One of them, Candida (also an assumed name) said that as soon as she reached the prison, she was enticed by the guards to prostitute herself in exchange for protection and other benefits. “The guards used to say that if you want to do well here, you have to agree with everything, otherwise things will go very badly for you”.

Despite regular visits to the prisons by, among others, religious organisations and inspectors from the Attorney-General’s Office (PGR), the abused women have not blown the whistle and denounced their tormentors.

They told CIP this was partly because they thought nobody would believe them, and partly out of fear. “We were always being watched. The guards are always nearby”, said one.

Anthea Serra, a psychologist consulted by CIP, said “there is a lot of fear about making denunciations, because the victims are facing intimidation, manipulation and even threats to their physical integrity. They fear that, if they blow the whistle, their lives will be put at risk.”

A second psychologist, Candida Muvale, added “Most of these inmates have families and they would not like their relatives to know that, during their period of imprisonment they were sexually violated. Speaking about rape, abuse or sexual exploitation is very difficult”.

CIP is calling for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the sexual abuse at the Ndlavela prison, which would include the PGR, parliamentarians and human rights organisations. 

This commission should produce recommendations for the protection of the women inmates of this prison and of the others scattered across the country.

CIP says it has sent its report and evidence to the PGR, and is willing to cooperate with any official investigation into the scandal.