Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter
WHAT began as a routine compassionate church programme aimed at reaching out to inmates at Khami Prison Complex two years ago has culminated in a powerful testament to the belief that love knows no boundaries.
It jumps hurdles, leaps fences and penetrates walls to arrive at its destination, brimming with hope. Love forgives, forgets and waits.
This is the story of Mrs Blessing Tafirenyika-Dube, who married her high school sweetheart last week while he is incarcerated at Khami Maximum Prison, on the outskirts of Bulawayo.
She has since shared the motivations behind this extraordinary event, describing it as nothing short of a hearty manifestation of “pure love” for her husband.
Biggie Dube (57) and Blessing Tafirenyika-Dube (56) tied the knot on Saturday (4 January) at a rare but colourful wedding ceremony that brought cheers to their families and inmates alike — a first of its kind in the country held behind the prison walls, an event that was covered by this publication.
A week after the wedding, social media and other public forums erupted with enquiries regarding Mrs Tafirenyika-Dube’s decision to have a wedding behind the high-security walls and heavy iron gates of one of the country’s maximum prisons.
Blessing Tafirenyika-Dube
The questions have included: Could she not have waited for the remainder of her husband’s four-year sentence? Were there any properties involved? Why did she choose to forgive a man previously described as promiscuous?
Sunday News caught up with the newlywed, Mrs Tafirenyika-Dube, at her home in Bulawayo where answers to the questions were offered.
Her actions, she firmly asserted, are rooted solely in pure love and nothing more.
“I have known Biggie Dube since 1987. We were in a relationship and had four children together. Like any couple, we experienced our challenges that resulted in a fallout. Two years ago, we reconnected at Khami Maximum Prison. Our church offers compassionate programmes to inmates, providing hampers and support and it was during one of such programmes that I met him again after a long time.
“I knew he had been arrested, and as I was trying to heal from our past, we had the chance to talk. We realised that if I hadn’t left him, he wouldn’t be in prison now. After long discussions, we concluded that for the sake of our children and with his desire to commit and settle down, getting married was the right step,” said Mrs Tafirenyika-Dube.
While expressing her hope and prayer for her husband’s swift release so that they can rebuild their family, Mrs Tafirenyika-Dube noted that she has seen significant changes in him during their interactions in prison.
“What I’ve observed is that he is now a changed man who has undergone full rehabilitation. From our conversations and what I’ve seen, I can truly testify that the rehabilitation programmes have transformed him. He has faced a lot and it is not easy to be in jail for an offence that could have been avoided — especially feelings of being framed.
“I have heard all sorts of assumptions about my motives, but I want to set the record straight — it has nothing to do with property or any material concerns. It is just pure love,” she emphasised.
Mrs Tafirenyika-Dube is hopeful that she will be reunited with her husband sooner than later banking on the appeal against conviction that they have launched with the courts.
The couple’s eldest child is 38 years old, while their youngest is 15. @nyeve14
