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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Correspondent
THE Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) is struggling to reintegrate back to society prisoners who committed heinous crimes such as rape against their relatives and communities.
ZPCS acting rehabilitation coordinator for Bulawayo, principal correctional officer Mr Risian Chikwetu told participants at a workshop organised by Padare/Enkundleni Men’s Forum in Bulawayo on Thursday that failure to reintegrate prisoners has created repeat offenders as society has shut the doors for ex-convicts.
“Another issue is on community acceptance. In as much as we equip them with a skill there is a need for the community to accept them as ex-convicts.
Some of the prisoners commit some of these crimes within their families. For example, one would have raped his brother’s daughter and for the same family to accept that person is a challenge,” said Mr Chikwetu.
He said families should give ex-convicts a second chance, calling on industry to also employ former prisoners.
“We try to engage them but the families do not cooperate. To the families we are saying these inmates have undergone rehabilitation, and some of them would have reformed we plead that they be accepted in communities because ZPCS teaches vocational skills to convicts that should occupy and sustain them and their families upon release,” he said.
Padare/Enkundleni Men’s Forum programmes development and fundraising manager Ms Thando Makhubaza said her organisation has embarked on a five-year programme to rehabilitate incarcerated offenders.
She said they were mainly targeting perpetrators of gender-based violence (GBV) with statistics showing that 95 percent of men were guilty of the offence.
Ms Makhubaza said through their interactions with prisoners she has observed that most perpetrators of GBV feel justified for their actions.
“Most of them are in denial. They believe that they are justified for their actions. Some of them don’t even know that they were committing offences. You will hear them saying I found her (referring to their wives) sleeping with another man so I assaulted her,” said Ms Makhubaza.
She said men should not beat up their spouses and other relatives no matter how aggrieved they will be. — @nqotshili
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