Three inmates who took turns to sexually abuse their colleague overnight in a cell at Harare Remand Prison have been jailed for 20 years each by Harare magistrate Loice Mukunyadze.

The three are Kingswell Ngwerume (32), Kudakwashe Mazorodze (35) and Lazurus Chinobhururuka (40).

They were convicted of aggravated indecent assault after a full trial.

The State proved that on August 11 last year, the inmates were locked up for the night.

Mazorodze then instructed the complainant to enter Cell C2, where there were nine other inmates, including Ngwerume and Chinobhururuka.

The court heard that the victim was awakened around midnight by Ngwerume's caresses.

Prosecutors also proved that Ngwerume sucked the complainant's manhood.

The complainant declined Ngwerume's advances.

This infuriated Ngwerume who started assaulting the victim with the assistance of Chinobhururuka and Mazorodze.

"Chinobhururuka allegedly forced the complainant to ingest an unidentified drink, which made him feel dizzy and powerless," said the state.

The three allegedly went on to remove the victim's undergarments before taking turns to sodomise him several times.

After the abuse, the three went back to their respective places.

The matter was reported to a prison officer who opened the cell the following morning and the victim was taken to hospital for a medical report.

Munyaradzi Muza appeared for the State.