Volume 52 Issue 7 - July 2014 : Feature

It takes nerves of steel to voluntarily enter the fettered terrains of the highly built, thick prison walls. 

Certainly, it is no place for the lily-livered, nor is it child`s play. After months of relentless pursuit to gain access, I waited with bated breath to get a nod from the buck stoppers. Finally, the big day to set my foot on prison soil arrived.

In fact, my mind was initially steadfastly set on spending a few days in prison to get a holistic feel of the prison atmosphere; wear that dull, dark orange coloured tunic, go undercover in a lousy grey blanket every day at strictly 5pm and wake up before dawn. My curiosity got the better of me; I wanted to verify truth to the very core, to gain first-hand experience.

However and true to the old English adage, ‘Beggars cannot be choosers`, the stringent buck stoppers could only permit a day`s visit. Nevertheless, I thought the deal was better than nothing and so I assented. All the while my inquisitiveness was brewing up. My mind was increasingly battling to establish the symbiosis between prison and society. 

As I entered prison that day, two main issues dominated thought; an individual is born into a society wherein one is weaved in through a socialization process. In this very same society, laws are formulated to abide by. Punitive and correctional measures are put in place should one fail to live up to expectations, all this in an attempt to restore or rebuild character. After character rebuilding phase, individuals are released back into the very same society wherein they endure stigma.

They are given lifetime unpalatable tags such as, lepantiti, leepantlo, legodu, legolegwa e.t.c and like an unpleasant permanent tattoo, they become a prisoner for life, whether they are reformed or not.

 Does this mean society doubts capabilities of the institution it has entrusted with rehabilitation? Or could it be just a blanket perception that lingers on and would not vanish away? My mind reeled on as I struggled to find answers. 

Prior to my self-sentencing to prison, I had met with ex-convict, Balekile Tsunami Marape. He is founder member of the infamous defunct criminal group called Maspotis. Marape was convicted for multiple counts in 2001. 

“After I left prison in 2010, my family was very supportive but some people in my community kept on calling me names, ba ne ba mpitsa serukutlhi, maina-ina, selo se se botlhoko mo go nna ka gore ke latlhile mekgwa yame ya bogologolo (they ridiculed me calling me all sorts of names, but the painfull thing is that I have reformed and shunnes my old ways),” he shares with a breaking voice.

His longtime friend and ex-convict, Michael Tshabalala, who is an active Botswana Institute of Rehabilitation for ex-Offenders (BIRO) and former Maspotis member who is now a Gospel artist, says one may go into prison and come out the same way. Tshabalala concedes that, “kgolegelo tota ga e age ope, motho go ikaga ene ka bo ene.” He says change comes from within a person and society must facilitate that change.

On the other hand, BIRO chairperson Mothei Sejakgomo says prison environment is meant to restore one`s persona. Mothei says society should desist from shunning ex-prisoners as their lack of acceptance and support may result in prisoner recidivism.

“It`s extremely difficult for one to land a job when we return because of our criminal records. Your finger print certainly closes all doors before you. These things can cause one to go back to their old ways for survival,” laments Mothei. 

As I set my foot inside Gaborone Boys Prison located in Village for the very first time that morning, like a tape recorder, Mothei, Tshabalala and Marape`s words echoed in my mind. Prison reality stared me in the face.

The place undoubtedly looks lousy with white and pale military green compartments, inmates lazing around, some playing cards and some doing laundry. The mood is definitely somber. Besides, a peep inside the rooms reveals a glaring reality; they sleep on the floor in dull grey blankets.

“The cell is an ideal place to learn to know yourself, to search realistically and regularly the process of your own mind and feelings,” says former Robben Island prisoner and political icon, Nelson Mandela, in his book, Conversations with Myself. 

Botswana Prisons Services Commissioner, Silas Motlalekgosi, reckons that linking prisoners with the society is a hard nut to crack. “That`s one of the toughest things in our job but we make sure that we impart skills to these prisoners…we have discovered that the source of all problems is the family, in particular dysfunctional families that is where trouble starts.” 

Buttressing the old English saying, ‘People who live in glass houses should not throw stones`, he says, “prison can happen to anyone at any given time, therefore, we must stop discrimination against ex-convicts.” 

Motlalekgosi advocates for government employing ex-convicts. “If one was convicted for something different from his trade or profession, let us give them a second chance in employment.”

He says denying ex-convicts employment opportunities invariably causes more harm than good since they end up turning prison a home. 

 Consequently, “the longer individuals are [incarcerated], the stronger their association with criminal elements and their identification with criminal values, the worse the deterioration in their family and social relationships, and the greater the difficulties they invariably encounter when they return to the community,” states the United Nations 2012 Office On Drugs And Crime Introductory Handbook on the Prevention of Recidivism and the Social Reintegration of Offenders.

The report emphasizes the socio-economic imperative of reintegrating ex-convicts into society and guarding against repeat offenders. The crux of the matter is that being forgiven paves way for reintegration and gives both parties peace of mind. 

Mothei who was recently forgiven publicly by a family he robbed in Shoshong, the Santsomas, concurs. His view is that government should devise ways to ensure that the victim benefits from the offender. “For example, if I am sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, maybe the sentence must be slashed into half, the other 5 years I serve the state while the other half I serve the victim,” reckons Mothei.

He says this can greatly assist in building relations between victims and ex-convicts. 

Weighing in, Botswana Prisons Fellowship executive director, Ronald Dintsi, also concurs with Mothei that forgiveness and reintegration play a critical role in the successful making of an ex-convict and ultimately his or her function in society.

Prisons Fellowship Board member and secretary, Victoria Masilo, says “two wrongs don`t make a right”. When prisoners are not reintegrated well into society but are stigmatized, they are bound to go back to prison, she argues and adds, “it is important to work on our reintegration processes and ensure they function effectively to reduce crime”.

That said, when I gave the prison gate my back on that very day, I knew very well that this was definitely not a place to be. It comes as an institution humanity designed as its own extension - a haven of correction and not a ‘brass branding iron` whose mark those who unfortunately find themselves behind its walls carry permanently even beyond these walls. 

Something whispered in my mind that these are individuals like you and I who may have gone astray but desire companion, closure, community support, happiness and all there is to enjoy as a person beyond prison walls.