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Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter
Life is full of choices, and the consequences of those choices can have far-reaching effects. For Promise Sibanda, a former convict, the consequences of his choices led him down a path of crime and mayhem.
However, after spending three years in prison, he was given a second chance at life, thanks to a recording contract with Dab Three Events. Instead of going back to his old ways, Sibanda embraced music as the antidote to his life.
Sibanda grew up in Mpopoma but attended Mandongola Primary School in Gwanda, Lukhanyiso Primary School, and Granger Christian college in Bulawayo. However, his life took a turn for the worst when he went to South Africa in 2013 and had his first encounter with a gun. From there, he began a spree of fraud and armed robbery to better his life.
As dusk bled into the night, Sibanda’s nocturnal and criminal instincts will kick in and he would prey on unsuspecting people, forcibly robbing them of their cash, vehicles and valuables at gunpoint while also fraudulently dealing in the circulation of fake money.
“In life, there comes a time when you introspect and reflect upon how you have been living. That point came when I was in prison. I realised that when I was jailed for something I didn’t do. I wasn’t and still not a stock thief but I wasn’t clean either.
Maybe the three years I spent in prison were to serve as a lesson that to me that crime doesn’t pay but rather, brings about pain, anger and anarchy.
“I regret getting a gun and using it for crime. I was an armed robber who was once on the most-wanted list and that is not something that I’m proud of. I was making quick bucks but at the expense of other people’s hard work. This life of crime doesn’t end well because you might die young, get beaten and injured by a mob, get bewitched a lot of bad stuff may happen to you. It’s a typical, ‘You live by the sword, you’ll die by the blade’ scenario,” he said.
It wasn’t until he was arrested on stock-theft charges and spent time in Khami Medium Prison that Sibanda began to introspect. March 18, 2019 is the day that Sibanda would never forget when a mere phone call would prove to be his demise and would alter his life forever.
“It was on a Monday in March where I had received a call from my friend, Topmore Dube, to meet near the Home Affairs offices in town but instead of seeing my friend alone, with him were eight others I was ignorant of and police in civilian arrested us on stock-theft charges. I was baffled by this act as I have never been involved in stock-theft. I was framed. From the arrested 10, only four of us faced trial and were eventually convicted. I was given a 22-year prison sentence on June 27 2019,” narrated the 27-year-old.
Sibanda, known in music circles as Marvellous is set to release a single on March 15 on digital stores and it features local musician, Adoe.
“Ithuba lisekhona is a special song to me since I wrote it behind bars in pain for being incarcerated for something I didn’t do.
It’s a song of regret for all the bad things that I have done in the past and hope for the future that I’m embarking on. I loved listening to Jeys Marabini back in the day, but I didn’t see myself as a musician later on in life. To me, music started off as a hobby since I had ample time on my hands in jail,” said Sibanda.
Sibanda would like to thank the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) for their rehabilitation programmes which kept him sane in prison.
The ZPCS is constitutionally mandated to protect the society from criminal elements through the incarceration of offenders for their successful reintegration into the society while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control.
Through the rehabilitation programme, where convicts are equipped with requisite skills to help them cope when they are released to the society, Sibanda was able to complete his Form 1 to 3 studies and is currently enrolled at Mpopoma High School’s informal learning programme for his O-level studies.
In an interview, Khami Remand Prison Rehabilitation Officer Runyararo Mnangagwa shed light on Sibanda’s tenure at the prison.
“He was of good behaviour as he utilised his time in prison towards achieving his goals. He would engage the rehab section for assistance and guidance, always willing to learn and come up with different ideas each time at any chance he would get. We try to equip convicts with skills to avoid helplessness and re-offending after release. We have different programmes and technical courses to train them as a way of enhancing their survival skills upon release. These include carpentry, brick-laying, mechanics, and upholstery. So, inmates are taking these seriously so I think we are going somewhere in terms of rehabilitation. Witnessing what Promise has done upon his release has managed to show the world that we are going places in rehab,” she said,
Freedom would finally dawn for Sibanda on December 19 last year when he was released from prison after a successful court appeal overturned the case due to lack of adequate evidence. — @MbuleloMpofu.
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