Members of the dreaded Central Intelligence Organization at the weekend directed Prison officials to eliminate inmates who caused the Friday protests at Chikurubi Maximum Prison, Zimeye has learnt.
Over 900 inmates on Friday protested against poor food at the Prison.
They burnt some blankets, destroyed infrastructure and beat up Prison guards in the process.
State media reported that three inmates lost their lives in the skirmishes but reliable sources said 7 prisoners were gunned down during the violent demonstration.
A highly placed source at the Prison’s head offices told Zimeye  on Sunday that the CIO had hijacked the case.
“They are saying that we should now hunt for the leaders of the protests and eliminate the culprits”, he said.
“But professionalism has told us not to do that because it will be the ZPCS’s image which will be soiled”.
“We understand where they are coming from because we have no guarantee that the strike is over yet. Yes security has been beefed up but we do not know what the prisoners are thinking and planning ahead of us”, he added.
According to the state controlled broadcaster ZBC 22 prison officers were injured and they are admitted at a local hospital where they are receiving medical attention.