Online Reporter
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage from Ntabazinduna, where President Mnangagwa is expected to preside over the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) pass out parade this Saturday.
A total of 1 195 graduating officers — drawn from Course 156 and 157 — will be officially commissioned following an intensive six-month training programme.
Today’s parade features 807 male and 157 female prison officers, who will soon be deployed across the country.
We’ll bring you live updates, key moments, speeches and the atmosphere from the Ntabazinduna training depot throughout the day. Stay tuned.
Leaving no one behind: ZPCS continues inclusive recruitment drive
The Second Republic continues to leave up to its mantra of leaving no place and no one behind, through its recruitment of prison officers.
Previously, Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services pass out parades have seen recruits from minority groups like Tsholotsho’s San community taking part.
Since the inception of the Second Republic in 2017, today’s two courses are the 9th and 10th courses to have graduated at the Ntabazinduna Training Depot
President Mnangagwa arrives for ZPCS pass out parade
PRESIDENT Mnangagwa has arrived at the Ntabazinduna Training Depot, Matabeleland North province, for the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services pass out parade.
The pass out parade comprises two courses (course 156 and 157), where a total of 1195 prison officers are graduating after an intense six-month training period.
Also present at the passout parade are Minister of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Ziyambi Ziyambi, Matabeleland North Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Richard Moyo, senior ZPCS officials led by Commissioner General Dr Moses Cyril Ngawaite Chihobvu among other senior government and Service Chief.
President Mnangagwa inspected the Quarter Guard.
President Mnangagwa has now entered the parade square, to mark the commencement ot today’s festivities.
After arriving, the prison band led in the singing of the National Anthem after which the President was invited to inspect the parade.
ZPCS committed to ensuring that the country’s Correctional Services becomes the best in the region
The Commissioner General of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS), Dr Moses Cyril Ngawaite Chihobvu, has praised President Mnangagwa’s visionary leadership, crediting it for the service’s newfound entrepreneurial approach to running its facilities.
Speaking during the ZPCS pass out parade at the Ntabazinduna Training Depot on Saturrday, Dr Chihobvu expressed the ZPCS’s commitment to becoming the best Correctional Service in the region and beyond.
“We have since taken an entrepreneurial approach in running our facilities and committed that ZPCS becomes the best Correctional service in the region and beyond,” said Dr Chihobvu.
“Parole System revamp to boost national development”: President Mnangagwa
The re-introduction and broadening of the Parole System in Zimbabwe will ensure that rehabilitated inmates can positively contribute towards the nation’s development, President Mnangagwa has said.
He said this at the joint Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services pass-out parade for courses 156 and 157 at the Ntabazinduna Training Depot, Matabeleland North province on Saturday.
The President said with the reorientation of the country’s correctional philosophy, inmates, once rehabilitated, have a role to play in the nation’s development agenda.
“Under the Second Republic, we have witnessed a significant reorientation of the correctional philosophy towards a system grounded in empowerment, positive change, purpose, and impact. This approach affirms my Administration’s belief that every Zimbabwean has a role to play in building our motherland. As such, inmates, once rehabilitated, must do their part; no one and no place is being left behind in our ongoing national development agenda.
“To this end, the reintroduction and broadening of the Parole System marks a major milestone. The system will now be extended to deserving individuals who have demonstrated genuine reform and readiness to positively contribute to society,” he said.
President Mnangagwa added that the country’s hosting of the inaugural Zimbabwe Parole System Conference in December will enable dialogue, knowledge exchange, and guide stakeholders towards a Parole framework that balances justice, rehabilitation, and community safety.
“In the same vein, Government is also advancing the establishment of Community Correctional Centres, which provide non-custodial alternatives for selected inmates. These centres will promote rehabilitation within communities, while easing congestion in correctional facilities,” said President Mnangagwa.
Bongani Ndlovu