26 Sep 2022

Botswana Prisons Service (BPS) officials have underscored the importance of understanding post-release experiences by prisoners, among them reconciliation with those offended and family members.

Presenting about post-release interventions for returning prisoners during a consultation meeting with community members in Mochudi recently, Assistant Superintendent Keeletsang Motsamai said facilitation of offenders was important as some truly felt remorseful for their actions, hence should be afforded a second chance to prove that they regretted their actions.

In that regard, Asp. Motsamai appealed to community members to facilitate smooth transition of ex-offenders by nurturing them to put to good use some skills they acquired in prison. 

She noted that as part of the measures to reduce the rate of re-offending, prisons service had come up with interventions to involve community members through Community Based Reintegration Committees, hence the countrywide consultations to build capacity.“In so doing we will not see some ex-offenders committing the same crimes and returning to prison because some end up committing more crimes because of the worst experiences of life outside prison. They want to go back where they are not judged,” she stated.

She, therefore, called on Bakgatla to join forces with the prisons department in assimilating ex-offenders into the community. 

She said community based reintegration committee members would be expected to provide feedback on the reintegration programme to all stakeholders and facilitate offender reconciliation process among other roles.

Asp. Motsamai said the committees would be inducted on what to do post-release of offenders, given profiles of offenders and in turn, they would be expected to assist them following assessments.

Earlier on Superintendent Kedibonye Khutsafalo stated that while their major role was to rehabilitate offenders, reintegrating them into the community post imprisonment was an uphill battle.

He stated that ex-offenders were not easily accepted by members of the community because of the stigma associated with the crimes they had committed.

Supt Khutsafalo thus said members of the community through committees comprising a variety of stakeholders, would be responsible for fostering the reintegration of offenders within their communities so as to afford them the opportunity to lead positive, productive and meaningful life-free crime. 

“We are here to ask you to help us to create an enabling environment that allows for effective involvement of the community in the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders,” he said.

For their part, residents of Mochudi welcomed the development, stating that if implemented successfully, it  would reduce the rate of crime.

However, they encouraged government to hire prisoners in government institutions before expecting the public to trust ex-offenders. ENDS