Zimdailyjournal Editor
Former deputy minister of Finance, Terrence Mukupe, celebrated his 50th birthday months after being set free from prison.
The former minister was released from prison in late November last year.
He has already found himself a beautiful wife, Tracy.
Mukupe was sent to prison in November 2023 for a fraud and tax evasion case involving fuel imports.
He was initially given a three-year effective prison sentence, served at Khami Maximum Prison.
While in prison, he spent time teaching mathematics and commerce classes to other inmates. Mukupe served an effective three-year sentence following his November 2023 conviction for a fraudulent fuel import scheme.
He still feels frightened that people wouldn’t welcome him, and he was surprised to see a huge turnout at his birthday.
What I know everything I have achieved in life is always because of God. I am not perfect, but in the eyes of God, I am perfect.
I want to thank; I even brood that kuchauya here vanhu kuparty, who wants to be associated with a criminal.
“Ndinongotenda Jehovah, chandingoziva muhupenyu, never take vanhu for granted, chinoita kuti munhu uve munhu, it’s the relations with people.
“Munhu wese akandikoshera, handitarisire munhu pasi.
“I appreciate you, thank you for coming.
“There are people who are brought into your life for different purposes.
“We became friends when he visited Khami Prisons where I was.
“Chikuru, I want to thank my wife, Tracy. I know a lot of my family members didn’t know that I did my wedding on the day I came out of prison.
“The same very day, we flew out of the country, and I was out of Zimbabwe for over six months.
“My life now has meaning, hupenyu hwangu hwaane meaning.
“I got the stability that I always desired, and I am grateful for the fact that we have put this together.”
Tracy expressed love to her husband.
“Happy birthday, my love, and seeing everyone here shows you are important, you are loved, I love you, and I would want to thank everyone who came here and spent special time with us.
“It’s not every day that somebody turns 50, and it’s only by the grace of our good Lord, thank you all,” she said.
A Colonel, whom he met at Khami Prison, said:
“Allow me to welcome you all, when my brother is being born again.
“The way we met, we were given wisdom.
“For those three days, I learnt something, murume uyu haana kuenda ikoko kunogara, akaenda ikoko kunoshanda basa, akatoita kuti vanhu vaite madegree, not only people who were on the programme but also other senior officials.
“He left a legacy, which will be talked about for generations.
“I met this man for three days, and we kept communicating up to this day.”
His bid to overturn the conviction and sentence failed in November 2024 when the Supreme Court dismissed his appeal, cementing a term that he spent, in part, transforming a prison classroom into a lifeline for inmates hoping to reset their futures.
He became a darling to many at Khami Maximum Prison as a most sought-after teacher. During his incarceration, Mukupe used his finance and mathematics background to teach commerce and maths to fellow inmates.
