Pardoned prisoners await their release at Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Harare, capital of Zimbabwe, April 17, 2021. For about 3,000 prisoners in Zimbabwe's jails, an early Presidential amnesty opened doors to an unexpected opportunity to rebuild their lives as free citizens. (Xinhua/Tafara Mugwara)
By Tafara Mugwara
HARARE, April 21 (Xinhua) -- For about 3,000 prisoners in Zimbabwe's jails, an early Presidential amnesty opened doors to an unexpected opportunity to rebuild their lives as free citizens.
The announcement of an amnesty by Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa came as a huge relief for those who qualified.
Prisoners were released from correctional facilities around the country from Saturday in a bid to ease overcrowding in jails amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The symbolic grant of freedom to prisoners came as Zimbabwe celebrated its independence from colonial bondage on April 18.
Those released had been convicted of non-violent crimes. The amnesty did not apply to prisoners jailed for murder, treason, rape, armed robbery, car-jacking, or sexual offenses.
For the beneficiaries of the clemency, mostly young men, the pardon awarded them a second chance to become productive and responsible citizens.
At Harare's notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison, the country's largest correctional facility, 23-year-old Elton Zivambise said now that he is out, he will use the opportunity to become a productive citizen.
"To the president, we would like to express my gratitude, because this program has been a huge relief, we are very happy with the gesture, we have been awarded an opportunity to apply the skills that we learned as prisoners, we are now going to apply the knowledge outside," he told Xinhua.
Prisoners in Zimbabwe's correctional facilities are equipped with practical skills such as carpentry and agriculture-oriented skills including maize production, poultry, vegetable gardening and cattle ranching.
"Since I am now free, I hope to start farming, to grow corn. We learned how to grow corn, the planting process, application of fertilizer, even the marketing process, we learned a lot because we grew a lot of corn here," he said.
Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Officer Commanding for the Harare province, Alvord Gapare, said various measures are being taken to ensure that prisoners are successfully reintegrated into society upon their release.
"We always try our best to rehabilitate these prisoners and impart some survival skills to them. The most unfortunate part is that when it comes to an amnesty, it maybe shortens that term of rehabilitation part, certainly, a lot was being done to ensure that they successfully reintegrate into society as law-abiding citizens and productive citizens," he told Xinhua.
Despite the fact that prisoners might have already paid their debt to society by serving their time, there is a social stigma that prevents them from being fully integrated into society in Zimbabwe.
James Kaware, the founder of the Prodigal Sons and Daughters of Zimbabwe, an organization that offers support to ex-convicts, said it is of paramount importance to equip former prisoners with practical skills.
"Empowering has the advantage that it helps reform them. When someone has nothing to do, the reformation process cannot be complete, so we realized that helping them find something to do can help reform them," he told Xinhua.
Kaware said his organization is facilitating sending some former prisoners to an agriculture college to equip them with valuable skills they can use in life.
At the female section of Chikurubi Prison, a dozen prisoners could not contain their joy after the release.
A first-time offender, 26-year-old Patience Gabure, said she was expecting to proceed with her education.
"Since I am out now, I want to write Ordinary Level mathematics that I failed so that I can proceed with my course, I want to do Science and Tech related studies," she told Xinhua.
Another beneficiary of the clemency, Precious Sibanda, could not wait to see her children after staying behind the bars for seven months.
"The most difficult thing for a woman is to have young children outside, you have no idea what they are eating, what they are wearing, so today I am overwhelmed with joy," she said.
Zimbabwe's prisons have a capacity of 17,000 prisoners but held about 22,000 before the latest prison release.
Various stakeholders have been raising concerns about the spread of the contagious coronavirus in the country's overcrowded prisons.
Prisons in the capital Harare recorded 173 COVID-19 cases and one death, according to ZPCS.
So far ZPCS has already vaccinated prison officers against COVID-19, but prisoners are yet to be vaccinated. Enditem
