Different speakers made presentations during the event.
This included local pastors, local NGOs and the Boksburg prison area commissioner Henny Makhubela, who lit the candle in commemoration of World Aids Day.
Makhubela challenged offenders and his staff to make every effort to overcome fear and go and get tested to establish their HIV status and take ARVs in the event that their status is positive.
The event was attended by ex-con turned businessman, self-proclaimed ‘sushi king’ and now Secretary-General of the Patriotic Alliance, Kenny Kunene.
Kunene gave a talk on his experience behind bars and transition from prison to society.
Kunene spent years behind bars after being convicted of fraud.
Talking about his time behind bars, Kunene says he spent most of his time reading everything about marketing, and his objective was to develop a skill that he would use after his release.
He warned inmates that the reintegration into society for prison convicts is an uphill struggle, urging them to prepare themselves, because surviving the aftermath, not the incarceration, is going to be the hardest task of all.
According to Kunene in many instances, society rejects ex-convicts, apparently due to lack of trust and the stigma attached to them (ex-convicts), adding that such obstinate attitude of society often leads to the prisoners entering the criminal surrounds in an attempt to survive.
Ex-convicts also often meet with rejection from companies when seeking employment and this forces most to return to crime.
“Although some promised that they will support you, coming out of prison into a world that doesn’t want you is a very difficult situation. You have to be prepared, work very hard and be committed to getting back on track.
“After my release, I was hit by the new truth. I tried very hard to find a job – but find that no doors were opened for me.
Many potential employers saw me as someone who has a criminal record, and they didn’t see anything else. Things were too bitter to bear, as employer after employer turned me down.
“I was, however, determined not to let my criminal record hold me back. I wanted to make the best possible use of my skills once I was released from prison,” said Kunene.
Kunene, along with his fellow convict, Gayton McKenzie, started to realise that no one was ever going to trust them again or ever going to give them a job.
It dawned on them that there was one job they were uniquely qualified to do: warn other young people about the realities of turning back to crime.
They set up their own organisation and took their anti-crime message into schools, where they encouraged young people to steer clear of crime.
After years in a prison cell dreaming of becoming a successful businessman, Kunene and his fellow ex-con McKenzie, started a seafood distribution business, operating in Gauteng and Mpumalanga provinces, before they ventured into a mining business, and today they are successful businesspeople.
“Stop playing Morabaraba the whole day, this thing damages your brain – rather spend your time preparing yourselves for the aftermath of incarceration,” says Kunene.
World Aids Day is commemorated each year on December 1, and is an opportunity for every community to unite in the fight against HIV, show support for people living with HIV, and remember those who have died.
-@FanieBoksburg
Staff and convicts convened at the Boksburg prison to commemorate World Aids Day, on December 9. Seen during the candle-lighting ceremony are the Boksburg prison area commissioner Henny Makhubela and one of the inmates, who disclosed his HIV positive status during the event, and encouraged other inmates to get tested.
