13 Nov 2022

Communities have been urged to accept ex-convicts back into society in order to minimise repeat offences.

Francistown State Prison Senior Superintendent Moagi Lekene made the call during a kgotla meeting on the offender reintegration programme in Tonota recently.

He said treating ex-convicts as outcasts and rejecting them forced them to repeat criminal activities to sustain their lives.

Rejection, he added, had forced some offenders to resort to the life of crime as they felt prison was more of a home than their actual homes.

 The most painful rejection was from close family members, said Snr Supt Lekene.

 He explained that crime was costly to government as prisoners had to be provided with food, shelter and education. 

In addition, crime could scare off foreign investors, he warned.

Supt Lekene said Botswana Prison Services was compelled to include communities in the offender reintegration programme so that they were mentally ready to accept those who had once broken the law. 

"We have rehabilitation programmes that assist in reforming offenders by getting them to accept their mistakes and getting them ready to live peacefully once released," he said.

Snr Supt Lekene said the programmes included carpentry, tailoring, poultry and other activities for equipping offenders with new skills.

The organisation also offered academic programmes up to tertiary level, he said adding that many prisoners had been assisted to acquire sponsorship to study up to masters degree level.

He urged all communities in Botswana to form committees that would work with prisons to assist ex-convicts to find jobs or to start their own businesses.

Showing love and forgiveness to ex-convicts, he said, would give them comfort and a sense of belonging.

Snr Supt Lekene said it would also make it easier for ex-convicts to implement what they had been taught in prison for the benefit of the community.

Kgosi Bokamoso Radipitsi urged Tonota residents to protect ex-convicts from rejection stressing that anyone could break the law. 

"If you are unfortunate enough to experience this, would you like the community to label you a convict or deny you the chance to make things right," he asked rhetorically.

Kgosi Radipitsi said even when one’s right of freedom was taken away, they still had their human rights. 

The aim, he said,  was to correct all wrongs and move forward.

The meeting ended with the formation of the requested committee whose membership included kgosi, prisons official, social worker and a pastor as well as Village Development Committee, Village Extension Team, Crime Prevention Committee and  non-governmental organisation representatives.  BOPA