Ravi Naidoo (56) is a former convict who was sentenced to life in prison, and a couple of years ago he described himself as a selfless person who was not scared of anyone.
He said he liked to fight a lot while growing up and was also involved in criminal activities.
“I grew up in Durban with both parents and my siblings. I had and still have a supportive family structure. I was involved in a lot of things because I refused to be told what to do,” said Naidoo.
His life consisted of being in and out of juvenile detention centres. He was sentenced to life plus 38 years of imprisonment at the age of 18.
A cold heart
“I felt no remorse for who I was and committed the crimes I wanted to. I remember being part of a house burglary to steal everything we came across. When we were about to leave, we murdered the person who was inside the house. It did not even bother me that I just murdered someone.”
He said after the murder and countless crimes he committed, he was sentenced and headed to death row to be hanged.
“I was young and arrogant. It didn’t even scare me that I was on death row. When I was close to being hanged in 1992, Nelson Mandela was released and they started easing rules and death row was no more,” said Naidoo.
Instead of changing his life, Naidoo said he joined the prison gang to be ranked as one of the biggest drug dealers in jail.
“I was going to be in jail for the longest time and the only way to survive in jail was to join the prison gang and become a leader. No one would mess with me because I was dominant and made irrational decisions for me to survive.”
Naidoo would smuggle drugs and alcohol while he was still in prison. He was a judge in prison, giving orders of what prison inmates should do or not do.
“We had rules and if you did not comply it’s either you are executed or punished. I was controlling the prison gang. I was transferred five times to different prisons, but when I get to those jails I would be recognised by the gangs because they knew who I was.”
Losing his loved ones
Naidoo explained before he went to prison, he married at the age of 16. After he spent 16 years in jail his wife died, leaving behind their son.
“It troubled me a lot losing the mother of my child, but I kept going. It was unfortunate because I could not attend the funeral since I was still inside. My wife was everything to me, and she would support me while I was still in jail.”
A few years later his father died, which did not sit well with him.
“When my father died I hit rock bottom. I was almost 18 years in prison. I started to drink, taking drugs to numb the pain. I would not sleep for three days because of his death. I had so much respect for him. My father was the only person I was afraid of.”
Naidoo said his father was a good man, a missionary, a good Christian and never took part in any substance abuse.
Changing his life
After his father’s death he became paranoid and wanted to commit murder. He did not understand why his father died because he was a good man.
“I remember one day I put my head behind bars and started praying. It was my first time telling God I don’t want to die in prison and wanted to change my life,” said Naidoo.
He said the next day five men came to prison and they were Indian as well. I asked them who they were and they told him they are from a church.
“I think they were sent by God. They prayed with me and I started changing my life. I accepted God as my Lord and Saviour. After that, for the first time in my life, I looked into the mirror and I didn’t like who I was. All the deceit had to stop. I started reading the Bible seven days a week and I would hide from the gangs.
“I was still trying to figure out how I would get out of the gangs, but prayer helped me to come out. It was not easy because I was the leader.”
Naidoo studied in jail, obtaining a diploma in teaching, a diploma in business management and a national certificate in electrical engineering.
“I also studied catering, furniture production, music, computers and I started being a motivational speaker. It was my time. I am grateful that God still kept me alive after all these years,” he said.
Bringing change to ex-offenders
After his release from prison, Naidoo wanted to help the community to do good; he wanted to share his testimony.
“My calling is to evangelise and speak to young people, and that is what I am doing. I go to schools and visit gang members to talk to them about how they can change their lives.
“We also just launched an event we call the Joseph Walk. With this event, we want people to recognise what we do. We want partnerships with this programme to change the lives of ex-offenders. We have started here in Gauteng and are planning to go to other provinces. We want to change communities and motivate them to change their lives.”
For more information about The Joseph Principle Ex-Offender Re-integration Programme, contact Naidoo on 066 444 5980 or Happy Nkuna on 083 249 7416.
