Online Reporter
Givemore Muzariri
THE Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service’s adoption of a correctional approach in 2013, prioritising rehabilitation over mere punishment, offered a lifeline to individuals like Promise Sibanda. Convicted of stock theft and sentenced to 22 years, Sibanda’s story, shared with Saturday Chronicle, highlights the transformative potential of this shift towards reintegrating offenders as productive members of society, aligning with the nation’s development goals.
“I had a friend and this guy betrayed me such that every time I think about him, I feel a lot of pain as he betrayed my trust and our friendship. The issue of betrayal came to light after he used my cell phone to communicate with his friends, who were into cattle rustling.
“Whenever this guy wanted to communicate with these guys he used to come to my place and pretend as if his phone had challenges. Like any other normal friend each time he requested to use my mobile phone, I would gladly give him not knowing that my phone was being used to organise logistics of stealing beasts from unsuspecting villagers,” he said.
The ex-convict never suspected his best friend’s crime due to the friend’s habit of deleting contacts after use, obscuring his illicit activities. However, the stock theft syndicate was ambushed by villagers and police, and examination of their phones revealed Sibanda’s number was used to organise the crimes.
“On the fateful day I got a call from my friend telling me that he wanted us to meet at Msiteli turn as he had an issue to discuss with me and I quickly agreed as I now treated him as a brother. When I got to the rendezvous I was approached by two police officers, who were in civilian clothing and they asked to see my identity card and after positively identifying me, they told me that I was under arrest on charges of stock theft.
“At first, I thought it was a joke but when they handcuffed me that’s when I realised that this was not a laughing matter and bad days were ahead of me. When the police officers took me to their car, that’s when I saw my friend in the company of other guys that I had never met before,” he said.
Sibanda recounted how police revealed his friend’s abuse of his phone for organising crime. At the station, suspects were separated for accurate information extraction. Subsequent investigations led officers to Maraphosa village in Insuza, where indications confirmed two offences had been committed.
“I was really disappointed because my friend told the police officers that I was part of the two crimes they had committed in Maraphosa. This really did go down well with me such that I was even prepared to fight so that he could tell the truth. The police officers told me that their hands were tied and my accomplices were the only people who could clear me from this case.
“With the tension that had been created the officers saw it fit to separate me from this snake of a friend, who was insisting that I was part of his crew. I would like to believe the officers did the best thing because I was prepared to kill because his actions were meant to destroy my future,” he said.
At court, the crew were proven guilty of the two offences and each sentenced to 22 years’ imprisonment, a verdict Sibanda found so overwhelming he contemplated suicide. Soon after conviction, they were transferred to Khami Remand Prison, a maximum security facility. Upon arrival, the officer in charge’s orientation highlighted the opportunity for personal transformation despite their incarceration.
“The stories that we used to hear from other people out there made us think prison was a dangerous place meant to kill people but the orientation that we got from the officer in charge corrected our line of thinking. Instead we were told that prison was a place where one could correct his life for the better.
“As we were talking, I discovered that it was the right place for me to empower myself academically since there is a school for inmates. This school had classes from Grade One up to Upper Six. The classes that I attended from Form One up to Form Three really opened my mind in terms of decision making and also understanding the importance of education in one’s life.
“Whilst pursuing my education I decided to join a musical group called Abahambi. Abahambi is an Imbube group and it really helped me improve my musical writing skills. This group inspired me to write a number of songs, some of which I later recorded soon after successfully appealing against conviction and sentence,” he said.
During his imprisonment, Sibanda persistently filed appeals as a self-represented litigant, finally succeeding on his third attempt, having learned of an inmate’s right to appeal conviction and judgement. Upon release, he faced community judgment, leading to his relocation from Mpopoma to Gwabalanda. His passion for music then spurred him to record his debut album, Ithemba Lisekhona (There is still hope), based on his life story, featuring the popular tracks Angisenawo and Phakade Lami on Skyz Metro FM and Khulumani FM.
“When I came back from prison a lot of people out there were rather judgemental, arguing that I had committed the crime so I felt it was wise for me to comfort myself by releasing an album that is based on my journey. From that album I got an overwhelming response as two of my songs are currently competing in top 2o radio competitions.
“I never thought my music would have such an impact and this was made possible by the journey that I travelled to be where I am today.
“Whilst in prison I also did a short course on sewing and soon after being released I ventured into upholstery business and in making my dream a reality I was given two sewing machines by another ex-convict, Floyd Sibanda, who is currently running a sewing shop in the central business district,” he said.
The musician is using his earnings to invest in a solar system for his sewing machines to combat load shedding, while also seeking public support for his company’s vision to create jobs and contribute to the 2030 middle income economy goal.
