CHANCO CCAPSO FELLOWSHIPS WITH PRISONERS

Chanco CCAPSO fellowships with prisoners BY ANANIYA ALICK PONJE Members of Chancellor College CCAP Students’ Organisation (CCAPSO) last Sunday had a service of worship with inmates at Zomba Maximum Prison. The service was organized by the Social Welfare section of the students’ organization. Among other things, the service was punctuated with singing by Chanco CCAPSO Choir and another choir of CCAP inmates at the correctional facility. The chairman for Zomba Prison CCAP expressed his gratitude on the student organization’s gesture to fellowship together in God’s union with them. He said that most of the times, when one gets to prison, the society tries to alienate itself from him. “What you have done has shown that you really care about us here and we feel greatly blessed. Most of the times, someone who has been sent to prison is considered as an outcast by society but this is not the case with God. God rebukes whom he loves and we know we are here for a purpose,” said the chairman. In his message according to the scriptures, the preacher Albert Mlomba, former CCAPSO chairperson, said whatever, the situation, God’s love is the same upon every human being. He said that Jesus Christ died on the cross of Calvary so that all may be saved regardless of their status. He appealed to the inmates, who belonged to different denominations, to look upon God always for their welfare. An elder from Zomba Zero CCAP who is Zomba Prison CCAP’s patron thanked the students for deciding to fellowship together with the inmates. He said many people associate prisoners with very wicked things and do not want to associate with them. The Chaplain for the correctional facility also thanked the students for organizing such an event. He said the students were always welcome if they felt like visiting the prison again. “My office in collaboration with the whole administration will always welcome you. As you can see, not all these inmates are CCAP; some of them belong to other denominations but they are gathered here because God is one and the same,” said the chaplain in reference to the multitude of inmates who gathered at the prison courtyard. At the end of the service, the CCAPSO Social Welfare section presented gifts of assorted items to the 210 CCAP inmates at the prison, both male and female. The items included clothes, soap and salt among others. One of the students who worshipped with the inmates, Foster Gondwe, said he felt good to have associated with the prisoners who usually lack such warmth and passion. “It was really good to see them brighten their faces, a thing which shows how significant the service was to their lives. It was a rare moment altogether,” said Gondwe. Chanco CCAPSO has other ministries as well which organize visits to other places like the hospital and orphanages. Some of these ministries are the Hospital and Evangelism ministries. The visit to the prison was supposed to take place on 6 July, Independence Day, but it was staved off due to other circumstances.

security

Prisons tighten security By ANANIYA ALICK PONJE Due to reported rampant cases of prisoners escaping from different prisons in Malawi, the Malawi Prison Service is doing its utmost to strengthen on security so as to curb the problem. It has been reported many times about prisoners escaping from prisons across Malawi, an act which has been blamed on lack of security in the correctional facilities. In an interview last Sunday, 12 July, Zomba Maximum Prison Public Relations Officer Inspector Evance Sambe Phiri said the escape of prisoners from prisons can be attributed to lack of adequate security due to understaffing, in part. He also added that some inmates, especially those who have been sentenced to life do not care about what will happen to them and they do not fear anything, hence attempting to escape. “The fact of the matter is that freedom in prisons is never complete. These people are separated from the outer world and sometimes this affects them psychologically. Some of them are those who have been given life sentences while others think about their families and their wealth. So the fear of what will happen to them when caught does not exist in them,” said Phiri. He added: “But now we are tightening security. The Prison Service has embarked on a mission of training more security personnel so that the issue of prisoners escaping from prisons becomes news of the past.” Asked to comment on reports that some security officers are the ones who aid the escape of prisoners after receiving bribes from relatives of the prisoners, the PRO said that although this may be true, it is against the ethical codes of conduct of prison security officers. “Yes, this may be true, but all security officers at prisons are required to comply with Prison Service codes of conduct which vehemently condemn aiding prisoners to escape,” he said. He added that the whole prison service works around the clock to apprehend the escapees. “It does not necessarily mean that after a prisoner or prisoners escape, everything ends there; we work hard in collaboration to apprehend them. For example, many prisoners who escaped from different prisons have been apprehended.” On allegations that sometimes it is the hard conditions in prison which compel the inmates to think of escaping, Phiri said prisons in Malawi have been reformed and that the Prison Reform is against harsh treatment of inmates. “Prisons are now ‘real’ reformatory centres where the general human rights are strictly upheld. Human rights organizations visit prisons to enlighten on the rights of the inmates,” he said. Inspector Phiri also said since prisons are now regarded as ‘real’ reformatory centres, most inmates do very well in their lives when they get out of prison. He said there are examples of inmates in Zomba who have used the experience acquired in prison to open carpentries and farms. According to the PRO, one thing that hinders the total application of the notion of Prison Reform is that the Prison Service still uses the old Act which was implemented a long time ago. He, however, reiterated that a bill was sent to Parliament for approval so that the new Prison Reform is fully and formally implemented. (I had an opportunity of interviewing the PRO during our visit Zomba maximus prison as Chanco CCAPSO. I have included this statement to authenticate my story.)