By Senior Superintendent Chimwemwe Mike Shaba (National Public Relations Officer for Malawi Prisons Service)
Of late there has been a growing and an interesting discourse on recidivism with some quarters entirely placing the blame on Malawi Prisons Service for ineffective rehabilitation and reformation programmes that fail to transform inmates into productive and upright citizens. But should we really place the whole blame on Malawi Prisons Service? I, as I partly place the blame on the Malawi Prisons Service, contend that factors that contribute to recidivism are broader and complicated that require a holistic and concerted effort from various stakeholders. In this article, I intend to discuss the dynamics that contribute to recidivism and the interventions by the Malawi Prisons Service in addressing the same.
Recidivism, which refers to the relapse of an offender into criminal behaviour or habitual reoffending is a result of a number of factors. In our case, Malawi Prisons Service partly plays a role not by design but due to limited resources to address rehabilitation needs of every prisoner. Regardless of a number of rehabilitation programmes that the Prisons department offers to inmates, some inmates do not benefit from such programmes due to lack of resources. For instance, vocational trainings like Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Carpentry and Joinery, Electrical installation, plumbing, Welding and fabrication , Tailoring and Fashion designing and others do not accommodate all prisoners who express interest to undergo such trainings due to inadequate teaching and learning materials which are very expensive to purchase. These are the programmes that empower prisoners to financially sustain themselves after the expiry of their sentences hence avoiding other crimes that stem from idleness and lack of stable income to earn a living. It is in that vein that the Prisons department takes a share of the blame for contributing to recidivism, though as I alluded to earlier on, it is not by design or lack of administrative will or vision for a correctional approach in the management of offenders, but rather it is due to a shrunk financial envelope and other resources to take on board all prisoners who express interest to undergo such vocational trainings that will in the long run not only transform them into the reliable and productive citizens of the land , but also financially empower them.
It is on that premise that apart from government’s funding to prisons, stakeholders need to partner with Malawi Prisons Service in the provision of quality and meaningful vocational trainings to prisoners. Let me take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to Center for Human Rights, Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) and DVV international for a commendable work through its project at Zomba Central Prison where it is offering free vocational trainings to prisoners at the facility. Their intervention has seen an increase in the number of prisoners benefiting from such trainings at the facility. At the end of the trainings, the Prisoners are awarded certificates. As I went to pen down my thoughts on recidivism 94 Inmates had graduated from various vocational programmes such as Carpentry and Joinery, Motor Vehicle Mechanics, Electrical installation, Painting, Welding and fabrication, Barbering, Tailoring and Fashion Designing and others while 44 inmates were still undergoing the trainings.
This article will be void if it does not award Prisons Fellowship Malawi a Gold medal for partnering with Malawi Prisons Service in the provision of vocational trainings to inmates at Balaka-Half Way House. Balaka Half-Way is a Prison formation that offers vocational trainings to inmates whose sentences are nearing end. Inmates at this facility, who are called “residents” are thoroughly selected from different prisons and at the end of the trainings, they go away with tool kits as a starter pack and an accredited TEVETA certificate. Such an intervention helps inmates to easily reintegrate into their communities with skills and a foundation to build a crime free living. If this intervention is replicated into all the regions and takes on board majority of prisoners, it is my conviction that recidivism will significantly be reduced.
Regardless of the gaps in the provision of the correctional programmes to the inmates, Malawi Prisons Service should be commended for the strides it has made on the same. For instance, Prison formal education has resulted into so many inmates attaining valuable academic certificates and eventually being selected to reputable public universities and other tertiary institutions in Malawi. I have in mind an inmate from Lilongwe Prison, popularly known as Maula who was selected to Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (LUANAR) who later became the president of LUARNAR Student Union, late Caswell Mapanje who was an inmate at Mzuzu Prison but was selected to Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST), Patrick Mwafuliwra from Mzuzu Prison to Mzuzu University, and several other prisoners that are too numerous to mention have tasted the corridors of tertiary education courtesy of Prison formal education. In 2022 alone, the Prisons reformatory schools sent five of their students to various public tertiary institutions. The inmates were Justin Shaba who went to Mzuzu University, Alexious Machilika to University of Malawi, Norald Mwale to Natural Resources College, Wisdom Mwakawanga to University of Malawi and Peter Kuyokwa to Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS). In the areas of mindset and behavioral change, the Prisons department has the Chaplaincy section which is present in all its formation that coordinates religious activities. Through this section, inmates go through Counselling. It is interesting to see so many ex-inmates who come back to prisons not as recidivists, but as evangelists to preach to the inmates the message of hope and reformation. The department has gone further to partner with the St. John of God in the provision of Psychosocial Counselling to inmates. All these are deliberate interventions to holistically address the correctional needs of prisoners so that once they get their freedom, they should not re-offend.
It should also be mentioned that community’s negative perception to ex-inmates also deter a successful reintegration of ex-inmates which in the long run contributes to recidivism. Most of the times ex-inmates are welcomed back with the same hostility and enmity they had left behind at the time of their arrest and subsequent conviction. Others are blatantly told that they are not welcome in such communities regardless of the fact they have already paid for their crimes through incarceration. They are declared “persona-non-grata”. Such an attitude towards ex-inmates by the community leaves them with no option but to find another safer home than forcing themselves to live with the unforgiving community. Unfortunately, they go to places where they have no settlement, land to cultivate or people to support them. Consequently they easily come into conflict with law as they illegally try to make a living. Some inmates do not even attempt to go straight to their homes after expiry of their sentences for fear of reprisals from the victims they had offended. It should not be contested to deduce that an inmate who unsuccessfully reintegrates into his or her community has higher chances of committing another crime, not by design, but out of desperation to make the ends meet.
In an attempt to address the problem of unsuccessful reintegration of offenders into their respective communities, the Malawi Prisons Service in 2022 partnered with Mennonite Central Committee and introduced a project called “Restorative Justice and Peace Building”. The programme aims at facilitating a reconciliation between the Offender (inmate) and the victim. The reconciliation is voluntary on both sides as they voluntarily agree to meet for Victim-Offender Reconciliation Conference at the facility where the offender is serving his or her sentence. The main stakeholders of this reconciliation are the Offender, the Victim and the Community which is represented by either the village chief or village elders. Since the launch of the project which will soon graduate into a programme, the Prisons Department has registered 152 resolved and successful reconciliations where the victims and the community have committed to welcome the offender once he or she goes back to join them in their communities upon the expiry of his or her sentence. A follow up on some cases have confirmed that the ex-inmates were really successfully reintegrated hence reducing the chances of recidivism that are orchestrated by unsuccessful reintegration. On this note, Malawi Prisons Service has demonstrated extra-ordinary commitment to ensure successful reintegration of offenders which can positively impact on the efforts to reduce recidivism.
Should it happen that you my dear readers of this piece are struggling to comprehend what I am driving at, I humbly invite your uncompromised reasoning to the summary of my argument. My argument is that it is wrong to entirely point a finger at Malawi Prisons Service on recidivism, but rather look at a broader picture and other several factors that come into play as far as recidivism is concerned. Prisons’ department needs support of several stakeholders in its correctional programmes. The community should also play a role for the successful reintegration of inmates into their society by giving them another chance to be productive citizens of the land. There are so many issues that contribute to recidivism which are far much beyond the interventions of Malawi Prisons Service, such as poverty due to lack of unemployment and economic opportunity, depression and an unchanging lifestyle and social circle upon release.
This article was first published by The Nation newspaper in Malawi. Views expressed in this article are from the author.
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