The Sunday Mail
Gilbert Munetsi
While the cemetery may arguably be the richest place on Earth by virtue of storing the biggest brains ever to pass through life, prisons come a close second.
Prisons have been home to movers and shakers of society: doctors, lawyers, teachers, musicians, sports personalities and clergymen who have found themselves on the other side of the fence.
Testimony to this, for instance, is the advancement of the Tehillar Worshippers from Chikurubi Farm Prison and their traditional dance compatriots to the semi-finals of this year’s edition of the national Star-brite show.
And they have gone on to release albums that are making a mark on the airwaves. These are the voices behind the famous 12-track acapela album “Regererai”, which any fair ear will conclude is pregnant with emotion.
For reasons attributed to misfortune, fate or whatever else, they are locked in for crimes that vary from house-breaking, stock-theft, armed robbery, car-jacking, possession of firearms, kidnapping, petty theft, misconduct … to more grave ones such as rape, murder and culpable homicide.
And while time is known to heal the wounds of the wronged parties, little focus is put on the incarcerated by means of re-integrating them into society once they have completed serving time.
The outcast tag follows them throughout the remainder of their lives.
This makes it almost impossible for an ex-convict to be totally accepted or to regain the human dignity they enjoyed before “doing time”.
Now, a first-ever programme aimed at enhancing self-image, confidence and presentation skills for inmates has been established, with the first batch of inmates having “graduated” inside Chikurubi Farm Prison two Fridays ago.
There are 800 inmates at the Farm Prison with the maximum security facility holding around 2 540 people, according to the officer-in-charge at Harare’s most famous prison, Superintendent Nobert Chomurenga.
At a function that had all the makings of a capping ceremony that, however, lacked family, friends and relatives to ululate and give hugs, 26 certificates were handed out to prisoners who underwent an intensive eight-week course conducted by a local consultancy company, ACD Management Consultants in conjunction with the Prison Fellowship of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Prison Services and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Zimbabwe.
Targeting prisoners who have a year or less left of their sentences, the pilot project is dubbed Building Self Confidence Approach (BSCA).
Beginning with an intake of 75 inmates, the programme is expected to be mandatory in all correctional institutions countrywide and, funds permitting, will incorporate staff members of the Prison Services.
Eight modules spread over a two-month period make up the curriculum that is not discriminatory of what crime got the student locked up in the first place.
A dance troupe from the St Thomas Prison in Marondera performs during a recent function in Mahusekwa. They will benefit from the recently-introduced BSCA programme
“We aim to break down barriers that divide us from our brothers who have served their debts to society.
‘‘In essence, BSCA strengthens the capacity of inmates in the prison system who are nearing release to develop their image, confidence and presentation skills so as to support the national mandate of correction and rehabilitation of returning citizens who contribute positively to their families, society and the nation at large.
“In as much as an inmate is empowered to materially fend for himself, the results are futile if his mind is not properly prepared to handle the re-integration phase.
“You will realise that upon attaining freedom, most of the ex-inmates are faced with a terrible crisis of lack of acceptable self-image, confidence and presentation skills and this virtually becomes impossible for them to secure sound footing on the other side of the fence,” says Andrew Kahari, the brains behind the concept.
He says the fears of unemployment, housing, health and relationships prevalent in the outside world are the same that inmates grapple with.
Guest of honour at the certificates presentation ceremony inside Chikurubi Prison Farm was Rebecca Mahlunge-Lewis from the Dutch Embassy who, echoing martial arts legend Bruce Lee, reminded graduands: “Always be yourself and have faith in yourself.
‘‘Do not go out and look for a successful personality and try to duplicate it.”
