The Sunday Mail
Desire Ncube
DRESSED in red and white striped prison jerseys and tennis shoes, Kentucky Prison male inmates gather in a shed for their Sunday service.
In preparation for the sermon, they are singing an old Pentecostal worship song in deep baritone voices.
“We glorify your holy name, we praise you Lord, Ooh mighty God we magnify your name.”
They occasionally smile at each other and shake hands, their voices growing stronger.
They translate the song into Shona and soon, all inmates suddenly break into prayer – some in tongues.
For 20 minutes, over 150 inmates who attended last week’s Sunday service found faith through worshipping songs “within the razor wire”.
The inter-denominational congregation and the choir “Renewed Gospel Singers” took turns to praise and worship the creator through song and dance.
The sermon was delivered by a fellow inmate, Pastor Sheppard Nyahunzvi. The pastor read from Psalms 118 verse13 which says, “I was pushed back and about to fall, but the LORD helped me.” The preacher evoked the inmates’ old lifestyle and suggested that it was only God who served them from death.
In a 10 minute sermon interrupted by loud applause, whistling and standing ovations from the inmates, Pastor Nyahunzvi assured the inmates that even if they were pushed to commit different crimes by whatever circumstances, God would never dessert them.
“While we are here we lost wives, parents and other close relatives. Some of them are the ones who pushed us this far, maybe our relatives are not even visiting us but the Lord has followed us even to this prison,” he preached. One inmate, Mr William Pengapenga who is serving a ten-year jail term for stock theft said the prison congregation is making a real difference in his life.
“The strong Christian presence at this place is changing the very atmosphere of this prison, it has a very transformative effect.
“We have already begun to experience some positive results and many are coming to Christ,” said Mr Pengapenga. Every Sunday, Kentucky Prison inmates worship together. With time, some are elected to be elders and deacons by the prison Chaplin.
Pastor Nyahunzvi explained that the prison congregation is different from other congregations as inmates are given opportunities to lead the service.
“We try to treat each other as equals. Many people view us as outcasts, hence the purpose of this fellowship is to encourage each other in the Lord,” he said with a broad smile.
He added that there is real Christianity in the prison and said they will continue to witness for Christ, regardless of where they are and what people say.
“Personally, I am overwhelmed by the scriptural knowledge of some of these guys (inmates).”
Kentucky prison is a satellite prison for Harare Central Prison and it has the capacity to house 200 inmates.
Prisoners’ request for reading material
KENTUCKY prison inmates are appealing to members of the public to bless them with reading material.
They said they have abundant time and they need to use it wisely.
Inmates often request for dictionaries as well as books on fiction, politics and art.
Most of the inmates requested religious material such as Bibles, self-help and educational books and any other helpful reading materials.
“My devaluing of the importance of education was a major factor leading to the damage I caused to my victims …” reflected one inmate who preferred anonymity.
Another inmate, Gwinyai Dhlakama said, “If you have any religious books that would be cool, especially ‘Da Vinci Code’ by Dan Brown, ‘The Great Controversy’ by Ellen G White and books on the history of the Catholic Church, I will be happy to get those,” he said.
These requests were given to The Sunday Mail Religion team when we visited Kentucky Prison inmates last week.
Those willing to assist can drop off any reading material at The Sunday Mail at Herald House in Harare or contact The Sunday Mail Religion Writer Desire Ncube on mobile numbers +263 773 244 737 or +263 0733 865 308.
