Online Reporter
Arron Nyamayaro
Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi has urged prison officers to pursue further education to strengthen their capacity to manage increasingly sophisticated criminals in their custody.
Speaking last Saturday at a doctorate celebration of Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service Commissioner-General Moses Chihobvu, who graduated with a Doctor of Science in Strategic Management from Chinhoyi University of Technology, in Harare, Minister Ziyambi commended the organisation for encouraging its officers to improve their academic qualifications.
He also praised Commissioner-General Chihobvu for helping transform the prison system from a predominantly punitive institution into a correctional service focused on rehabilitation.
Minister Ziyambi urged prison officers to remain strategic and committed, using the knowledge gained through further studies to improve prison management, maintain discipline and respond effectively to the changing nature of crime.
“Prisons should not only be places of confinement, but institutions that rehabilitate and contribute to correction,” he said, adding that well-trained officers are essential to achieving that transformation.
Minister Ziyambi warned officers against complacency, saying anyone could become an inmate depending on circumstances.
He also urged prison officers to avoid drug abuse and focus on preparing prisoners for reintegration into society.
“Everyone is a potential inmate; it is only that some people are fortunate or their criminal activities have not yet been detected,” he said.
“As prison officers, I urge you to further your education.”
Minister Ziyambi used Commissioner-General Chihobvu’s academic milestone as an example of discipline and perseverance, describing him as a person of determination who refused to allow age and position to become barriers to education.
“Age and his position as Commissioner-General did not prevent him from furthering his education,” Minister Ziyambi said.
“He looked at himself and said, ‘I will conquer that’, and today we are here celebrating.”
He said critical thinking, developed through education, helps not only in the correctional system but also in everyday family life.
“I liked what he said. It helps us as people to consider each other,” Minister Ziyambi said.
Commissioner-General Chihobvu said he was motivated to further his education after having his studies interrupted by the liberation struggle, adding that he later witnessed how education could transform lives.
“Growing up in a poor background gave me the determination to further my education after my studies were disrupted by the liberation struggle,” he said.
“Knowledge is power and it is needed to transform personal lives, family life and the nation at large.”
Commissioner-General Chihobvu said he was also encouraging officers to continue their studies, noting that the prison system had made provisions for inmates to access educational opportunities.
“We have opened opportunities for inmates to further their education and allowed them to join others at graduation ceremonies and even lobola functions,” he said.
The Commissioner-General added that officers should not simply supervise prisoners during such events but should also strive to advance themselves academically.
He took the opportunity to thank his wife, Mrs Marian Chihobvu, for supporting his studies.
