Where’s the justice in this?

Sanku Tsunke, head of communications at the prison said, “Offenders are given support to obtain an education from school level up to a higher education and training level.”

While it is great that inmates are able to study further and hopefully gain skills that will assist them with their rehabilitation into society, the first thought that comes to mind is the sad fact that while government supports inmates with their studies, thousands of youths are on the streets unable to study due to a lack of funds. People who have not committed crimes, who want to be productive members of society, are left out and mostly forgotten.

One such person is Bernard Selabe, a homeless man whose ambition was to get a qualification in construction so he could find work. Luckily for Selabe, after the Sandton Chronicle published his story, he found work – but not every story has a happy ending.

Looking at photos from the Leeuwkop prison graduation ceremony was bitter-sweet. One of the graduating inmates was jailed after being found guilty of murdering his brother and parents. The inmate had shot his family members while they were sleeping. A fellow graduate was found guilty of hacking her mother and grandmother to death with an axe.

It is terrifying that these inmates get a second chance and the possibility of studying, courtesy of the State, while Selabe and others – who have done nothing wrong – are left to fend for themselves. One has to ask where government’s priorities lie.

The photos of the inmates, dressed in their gowns and smiling for the camera is all very well – but thinking about the cost involved in educating them was depressing.

It is my view that the money spent could have been better used elsewhere.