MALAWI
Two inmates, Father Msowoya and Kumbukani Mindiera, have been pardoned by Dr Lazarus Chakwera, the president of Malawi, so they can pursue higher education qualifications after the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA) lobbied for their release.
The inmates passed the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) exam while in prison and successfully applied for admission to university.
“The prisoners have demonstrated good behavioural reform while serving their sentences by becoming top students among prisoners who sat for the 2022-23 Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) Examination,” reads part of an 8 September statement, signed by Oliver Kumbambe, the principal secretary in the ministry of homeland security.
According to local media, Msowoya has been serving an eight-year sentence and Mindiera a seven-year sentence for theft, when they were pardoned.
From prison to college
The former inmates are set to undertake bachelor studies at two separate universities. Msowoya will be studying for a bachelor of business administration degree at Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences, while Mindiera will pursue a bachelor of science in culinary arts at Mzuzu University.
Their acceptance into university prompted CHREAA, an organisation which works with prisoners’ rights, to recommend that they be pardoned in order to commence studies at their respective colleges. Chakwera subsequently pardoned the prisoners in what his government called “an act of mercy” and “recognition of the right to education”, reported local media.
Chakwera’s government has received widespread praise from the Malawian community for pardoning the prisoners.
No parole system
Speaking to University World News, the director of CHREAA, Victor Mhango, said there were many reasons why his organisation lobbied for the inmates to be released.
One of the reasons his organisation lobbied for the pardoning of Msowoya and Mindiera is because Malawi has no parole system.
Parole is the release of prisoners before they finish their sentences on the condition that they do not commit a crime while they are out of prison. They are monitored and supervised by a public official, usually called a parole officer. Countries which have a parole system include the United States, Canada, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
In the absence of a parole system, Mhango said, the only other way prisoners can get an early release in Malawi is through a presidential pardon. He said that, had they not received pardons, Msowoya and Mindiera would not have been able to pursue tertiary education because avenues used to attain higher learning while in prison which are employed in other countries are not available in Malawi.
Higher education through distance learning impossible
In many countries, it is quite common for inmates pursuing higher education to do so through distance learning. Malawi, however, does not have such opportunities for prisoners, according to Mhango.
“Even if we had [distance education], we don’t have the facilities. Our prisons are different from other prisons; these are prisons where people are packed like sardines in the cells. They don’t have space, they don’t have resources, they don’t have libraries, they don’t have internet. We cannot say they can study … that cannot happen. It’s impossible.”
Countries in which distance learning from prison is possible normally have basic facilities such as computers and, at times, monitored internet access.
Education can change a prisoner
Mhango said his organisation believes education can change a prisoner. He emphasised the importance of education in positively shaping former inmates into well-functioning members of society.
Said Mhango: “When someone is educated, at least mindset changes. Outside there, there are so many youths who are not educated. They don’t go to school so the only thing they can think of is committing crime. When you are educated, at least you are ambitious.”
Mhango believed going to college was going to keep the recently released prisoners away from crime. “When you are at college you are a different type of person,” said Mhango, “you only think of your career. We believe those two inmates or any other person who went through the prison system and then goes to college will change. Actually, we have helped some before and we have never seen them commit crime in or after college.”
There would be nothing amiss if prisoners studied hard to get pardoned, Mhango said. He said people need to understand that, eventually, whether it’s through pardoning or completion of their sentences, prisoners get out.
He said it’s better to have former inmates who are educated because giving inmates an education ensures that they have somewhere to start when they try to rejoin society.
Mhango said if someone is working hard in school so they can excel and get pardoned that is actually good for the country.
New prison bill
CHREAA is lobbying for a new prison bill that will, among other things, introduce parole and education for prisoners.
“This will actually help the prisoners,” Mhango said. “It’s going to assist them in their life after prison.”
However, he said, there was no special arrangement to cater for the school fees of Msowoya and Mindiera. He said the matter of school fees for the former inmates will be “like that of any other person” and they can apply for a loan.
“The relatives can also assist with school fees. This is out of our hands, [but] they can be assisted by other people. We once lobbied for one former inmate and, as we speak, he is being assisted [by a commercial bank].”
Limited opportunities in African prisons
Malawi is not the only African country in which prisoners cannot access higher learning easily. In 2022 University World News reported that higher education in prisons was still patchy despite an expansion of e-learning.
Doreen Namyalo Kyazze, the Sub-Saharan regional director for Penal Reform International, was quoted as saying those pursuing higher education represent less than 1% of Africa’s prison population. She also said that most prisons in Africa are about 300% overcrowded and only one or two prisons per country offered higher education.
A lack of funding, among other things, is one of the major reasons inmates fail to pursue higher education in Africa. For example, a study of higher education in Tanzanian prisons titled, ‘Problematics of accessing tertiary education in Tanzanian prisons’, published in 2021, noted that “some prisoners were interested and qualified to undertake tertiary education, but they were prevented from access because of lack of funds”.
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