WE hail President Lungu for pardoning 502 convicted prisoners to commemorate Christmas Day yesterday.
We are also touched by the humanitarian consideration of pardoning an ex-convict aged 83 and another aged 75.
It is further heartening to note that the President’s special amnesty has been extended to various prisons in all the country’s 10 provinces.
Having saluted the President for his noble act, we are calling on all non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that deal with the affairs of prisoners like the Prison Reintergration and Empowerment (PRE) and Prison Fellowship of Zambia (PFZ) to ensure the pardoned prisoners are integrated into society.
We say this knowing that offenders released from confinement face a variety of challenges that may hinder their ability to be absorbed into society and become law-abiding citizens.
Of particular concern are high-risk offenders with lengthy records of criminality.
We have noted that a key feature of successful crime prevention strategies is the attention to the social reintegration of ex-prisoners into the community and the development of interventions designed to reduce the levels of recidivism.
Recidivism, which refers to a person’s relapse into criminal behaviour often after being pardoned or undergoing intervention for a previous crime, is one of the most fundamental concepts in criminal justice.
However, while commending the work done by NGOs concerned with affairs of prisoners, including those who are released either after serving their sentences or pardoned, we feel more needs to be done.
We feel they should address several interventions which should be done in collaboration with community agencies and organisations like the Church.
Offender reintegration programmes should aim at addressing risk factors associated with ex-prisoners, which include substance abuse and unemployment.
It is important that the development of these interventions should be designed to facilitate the social reintegration of offenders and reduce the rates of re-offending.
We say this knowing how difficult the period of transition from prison to community can be for offenders.
Upon release, many ex-prisoners may have lost their source of livelihood, their personal belongings, accommodation and may even have lost important personal relationships.
Incarceration may also have damaged their social networks. They may have experienced mental health difficulties or acquired self-defeating habits and attitudes.
It is for this reason that we are calling on all stakeholders, including the Church, to have prison reintegration programmes to welcome ex-convicts into society.
As a Christian Nation, we should be guided by Biblical verses in Matthew 25:35-46 which says: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.”
Then the righteous will answer him, saying, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?”
Yet there is another verse in Psalm 102:20 which command us: “To hear the groaning of the prisoner, to set free those who were doomed to death.”