Restorative justice for Qalakabusha ‘lifers’
Unit 12 Maximum Section inmates graduated after completing anger management and restorative justice courses at Qalakabusha Prison.
SENTENCED to life imprisonment for rape, murder or robbery, offenders at the Qalakabusha Prison in Empangeni are working hard toward rehabilitation.
Unit 12 maximum section houses offenders convicted of serious crimes, but while serving their sentences emphasis is nevertheless placed on programmes to help the inmates with anger management, restorative justice and spiritual care.
Department of Correctional Services’ Correctional Intervention Officer, Fana Mahlaba, says the programmes aim to bring about positive change and to build prisoners’ moral fibre.
A psychometrician by profession, Mahlaba says for many offenders the programme is the first encounter with structure and discipline.
‘These people come from broken homes and many of them committed crime while under the influence. These programmes are their only hope of impacting their overall psychological and behavioural processes.’
Rehabilitation programmes are conducted over a four-month period and offenders attend classes three times a week.
In 2004 an amendment was made which stipulated that offenders sentenced to life imprisonment had to serve a standard 25 years and undergo several rehabilitation programmes before their cases were presented to the parole board for possible social integration.
