It was an emotional moment when the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS) allowed an inmate to mourn his mother.
The kind gesture by ZPCS, allowing a serving inmate to attend the burial of a close relative, underscores the service’s transitional efforts from a purely punitive approach to a correctional focus.
The permission was granted on Tuesday, when a delegation of five officers from the ZPCS Manicaland Province accompanied inmate Tinashe Fifitini from Mutare Remand Prison to attend the burial ceremony of his mother in Nyamande Village under Chief Saunyama in Nyanga District.
His mother, who was 66, succumbed to a lung infection.
As his mother’s coffin was lowered into the earth, Tinashe slowly knelt and whispered a prayer. Later, with tears still fresh, he spoke softly but firmly.
“I never imagined I would be allowed to pay my last respects to my mother.
“This has shown me that the ZPCS still perceives me as a human being.
“I am grateful, and please consider me a changed person,” he said.
Tinashe, 36, is currently serving a nine-year prison term at Mutare Remand Prison for contravening the Wildlife Act and is due for release in 2027.
“From a Pan-African perspective, rehabilitation is not only about discipline and skills training but also includes preserving family ties and human dignity.
“Moments like these help offenders reconnect with society, which is essential for successful reintegration,” said Provincial Rehabilitation Officer, Correctional Officer Grade Three (CO3) Mariga Edwell, while addressing hundreds of mourners gathered at the ceremony.
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