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Midlands Bureau
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) has urged society to readily accept released inmates as that will help them turn away from crime. President Mnangagwa recently pardoned 3 000 prisoners nationwide, with 724 released inmates being set free in the Midlands province.

Worryingly, some released inmates have since been incarcerated again.
ZPCS claims in some cases this would be because members of the public would have failed to assimilate them.
ZPCS Midlands public relations officer Mr Jere Ruzive urged the public to incorporate ex-inmates since they had done their best to rehabilitate them.

“As part of our mandate, we help in the rehabilitation of inmates to be able to come back in the society and lead a normal life which is crime-free,” he said.

“There are some cases you will obviously not dispute that some will again commit crimes, but they are not all of them.
“I think the other problem is the society they come into, where a lot stereotypes will be placed on them and few will be willing to associate with them.

“We urge the public to incorporate them back into society and help them lead a good life after serving their term.”
Former prisoners have struggled to find employment upon their release from serving a term behind bars, which at times pushes them back into a life of crime.

With this in mind, ZPCS is famed for teaching inmates life skills which will help them eke out a living upon their release from prison.

Some inmates even get academic qualifications behind bars.