Faith and redemption at Khami Prison for prisoners

WHEN young church leader Descent Ncube walked behind the high walls of the Khami Prison Complex to introduce a faith-based programme to inmates earlier this year, he had no idea whether prisoners would embrace or rebuke the Bible teachings.

For someone who had never stepped foot into the country’s second-largest correctional centre, even on a visit to an inmate, Ncube had every reason to feel like he was walking into a lion’s den — a place he wasn’t sure he would be welcome.

Ncube was part of the Christ Embassy’s Foundation School, a programme designed by the church to spread the word of God to inmates through weekend Bible teachings as well as praise and worship sessions.

Last Wednesday, 340 inmates graduated from the Foundation School programme, where Chronicle caught up with Ncube to talk about his experiences working with some of the hardened criminals who are serving lengthy sentences for crimes ranging from murder, armed robberies, car hijackings, and sexual offences against minors.

Among the 340 prison graduates was former death row inmate Vusa Ndlovu, who was locked up for murder in 2012. His death sentence was commuted to life in prison in 2021.

Timothy Munhare, convicted of armed robbery in 2017, has 39 years left in prison, while Knowledge Jonasi is serving 54 years for armed robbery in Masvingo four years ago.

These are just some of the inmates that Ncube worked with on weekends, yet he says their stories and hope, even under the most difficult life circumstances, moved him in a big way.

“This year was my first time ministering in a prison under the church’s Prison Ministry project, and the one thing that struck me working with inmates are the preconceptions that we, as a society, have regarding prisoners.

“Society is quick to judge them, but once you start interacting with them, listening to their life stories, their aspirations for the future, and their fears, then one will begin to understand that they are human like us despite their current circumstances. As a church, we come to them behind the prison walls with love, and they have been so responsive to the Foundation School and were eager to be part of it and change their lives from the day we introduced them to the programme,” said Ncube.

“As the pastoral fellowship co-ordination centre manager, my duties include organising the Foundation School programme together with my church colleagues, a programme that we are witnessing as 340 inmates graduate after successfully completing their Bible studies. They might be prisoners, but they have something in them that responds to the word of God.

“We came here to Khami Prison under a mandate given to us by God, so the inmates might have committed crimes, but as a church, we believe that we have planted seeds of love and hope in them. The experience of working with the inmates was awesome. Interacting with them every weekend and getting to that stage where we talked openly and they asked questions is an experience that I will forever cherish,” he said.

He believes that the programme has had a huge impact by assisting in the rehabilitation of the inmates. “The church has been running this programme since 2022, and some of our graduates have gone on to be beneficiaries of the Presidential Amnesty, which shows that the inmates truly want to change and reintegrate back into society.”

In a speech read on his behalf, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services’ officer commanding Bulawayo Metropolitan Province, Commissioner Mkhulunyelwa Ngwenya, hailed Christ Embassy for partnering with ZPCS in its efforts to rehabilitate offenders.

“I wish to express my sincere gratitude towards the gesture by our partner Christ Embassy, who took it upon themselves to train inmates on the biblical foundations as today we witnessed 340 inmates graduating with certificates in Foundation School. It’s a step we believe will offer a positive look in the social lives of the graduates.

“We have always reiterated that rehabilitation of inmates is not the prerogative of the ZPCS but rather a collective responsibility shared with members of the community. For us to be able to achieve the vision of becoming a leading correctional service provider in the region and beyond, a multi-faceted approach is inevitable where stakeholders ride off our gaps and fill them up accordingly,” said Ngwenya.

Christ Embassy pastor Rachael Sibusisiwe Buzuzi said: “Words are not enough to adequately give thanks to the boss of the church, the Holy Spirit, for always giving us excellent guidance, for we have been producing tangible results. I am indeed grateful to all those that have helped along the great path of faith that has led us here. Standing on the foundation of our Lord Jesus Christ, that our great Man of God has laid, it is a great privilege to be able to make our contribution to the greater good of our country and mankind at large,” she said.