President Mnangagwa recently granted an amnesty to prisoners across the country all in a bid to decongest the correctional facilities. We have seen such opportunities for inmates to have a fresh start in society being granted before and it is quite a commendable thing to do, especially for those that have shown a desire to reform.
In our previous edition, we carried a story of a death row prisoner that has turned pastor following his stint in prison, showing that prison can be a place of reform, a place where characters are moulded so that individuals can live well with the rest of society.
What we are not sure of, however, is how prepared that society is for the returning friends and relatives. We are quite aware that correctional facilities seek to provide counselling and life skills to prepare inmates for their eventual release.
Speaking to some of the convicts that were released during the latest amnesty, one got the feeling that many of them would face an uphill struggle in trying to reconnect with their families.
Among the released convicts were some that had been in prison for many years, and there were others among them that had never received visitors in prison.
What was uniform among the lot that left prison was that they had not seen their relatives for a year since prison visits were stopped as part of measures to contain the spread of Covid-19.
While many that have left prison or face the prospect of a prison stint can draw inspiration from the story of 10 pastors that discovered their calling in prison, it is quite important to point out that it is not an easy journey.
We believe society, especially the immediate family, needs to be involved and prepared for the return of the convict earlier than they expected.
We say this because we had occasion to speak to a man that had just been released and was making his way to Plumtree’s Empandeni area on foot. While we do not believe they deserve special treatment, having their relatives in the know would help in their re-integration, especially in cases where some members would still be hurting as in the cases of arson, killing or any other serious crime.
We believe Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services is doing a good job in rehabilitating offenders and we would like to urge authorities to better capacitate the relevant arms of Government and manage the transition for prisoners so that they do not go back to crime.
Let us not, as relatives and friends, turn our backs on the ex-prisoners but embrace them in the belief that they would have learnt their lesson.
Their rehabilitation does not end with their release from prison but it is actually when most of the work begins to convince the community that they have changed and can be trusted again.
