The Sunday News
CAN anything good come out of Nazareth?
Such were the sentiments expressed at the news of Jesus Christ’s birth, as some people doubted that the Messiah could have been born in Nazareth of Galilee.
The place was seen as remote, away from the epicentre of Judaism in Jerusalem and not known for erudition or much civilisation. Nothing positive was expected to emerge from there.
Prisons equally suffer similar prejudices as the Biblical Nazareth, with former inmates bearing the brunt of society’s bigotries after being released from prison.
Despite the facilities having been designed to correct and rehabilitate law offenders, former inmates continue to struggle to integrate into mainstream society which treats them with suspicion.
Because of the prejudices some former inmates feel cold and unwanted soon after release and prefer going back behind the prison walls where they feel their “battered” history is better appreciated.
So unforgiving is society, it will not relent on asking “Can anything good come out of prison?”
The answer to that question is hardly a yes in the heads of many, yet it may actually be the correct answer.
Indeed if yes is the answer, then 35-year-old Stanley Zimbudzana, a former inmate at Khami Prison on the outskirts of Bulawayo stands as a classic example of the many good things that come out of prison.
Zimbudzana served seven years at Khami Prison, for a crime he said he would not be comfortable to discuss in the media, and was released in April this year.
While in the eyes of the ordinary citizens, being incarcerated may mean condemnation and ostracism, for Zimbudzana his experience in prison helped open a new chapter in his life.
For him the seven years he spent behind bars were not time lost, but rather an opportunity to correct his past mistakes, misdeeds he feels he couldn’t have righted as a free man.
“I went into prison with just one Ordinary Level subject, but managed to study until I attained five subjects including Mathematics and English Language. I continued with my studies and managed to attain 10 points at Advanced Level where I was doing commercial subjects.
“Prison time gave me a chance to write a new chapter in my life. If I had not gone to prison I feel maybe I wouldn’t have bothered to pursue any academic studies. This is not to say that I’m encouraging people to get arrested and go to prison, but I’m just pointing out the positive impact prison time had on me,” he said.
Zimbudzana, who is now aiming to study for an economics degree, stands out as a paragon of the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Service’s (ZPCS) thrust to empower inmates with life skills which they can use after being released from incarceration.
ZPSC’s role, as captured in its mission statement is “To protect society from the criminal elements through the incarceration and rehabilitating of offenders for their successful re-integration into society while exercising reasonable, safe, secure and humane control.”
The mission statement also dovetails with the United Nations Basic Principles for Treatment of Prisoners.
While in prison Zimbudzana had the option to choose the sort of life skills he could earn from an array of skills development courses offered by ZPCS and he chose the academics.
Having understood the thrust of ZPCS’s role and emerging as a product of the organisation’s main thrust, Zimbudzana has set on assisting other former prison inmates to integrate well into mainstream society as well find their feet again after being released from prison.
“Ex-convicts are finding freedom which they prayed for each and every day when they were still under incarceration, so unpleasant and unbearable because of the way they are treated by family, friends and the society at large. They are looked down upon, always handled with suspicion which is so disheartening to some of us who feel we have reformed and are ready to help shape our societies,” he said.
Zimbudzana testifies having suffered ridicule and rejection at the hands of society after being released from prison, an experience he said motivated him to found an organisation called “Clean Life Foundation” whose thrust is to assist former prison inmates.
“No one expects anything good to come out of these people who spend the chunk of their lives under the walls of unpleasant buildings. This is all because of misconceptions that has been strengthened and entrenched in our society.
“The misconceptions are robbing the nation some good ideas which are carried by some of the former prisoners as they have been locked outside of the society and national system only because of a misinformed lie that ‘Once a criminal always a criminal.’
“Many of these condemned ex-convicts die with their brilliant ideas, some good enough to help both communities and families to progress well,” said Zimbudzana.
By establishing Clean Life Foundation, Zimbudzana hopes to help former inmates rise above the prejudices embedded in society about them and pick up from where they left, to start living their lives as normal human beings and equal members of society.
Zimbudzana, who is the chairperson of the organisation and is working with seven other former inmates explained the mandate of the organisation.
“The mandate and purpose of our organisation is to change the existing perception in the society about ex-convicts. We also aim to assist ex-convicts who are being segregated by the society and push for the inclusion of ex-convicts in nation building because many of them have requisite skills to contribute towards the well-being of the country.
“We will also want go for outreach programmes in schools and teach the children to stay out of crime and hence stay out of prison. We have lined up clean-up campaigns and marches to try and clear the existing misconceptions about former inmates,” he said.
Zimbudzana appealed to corporates and other well-wishers to assist his organisation through cash and kind to undertake its mandate of helping integrate former inmates and giving them a platform to start life on a new slate.
