ZPCS Sets Up Radio Station at Chikurubi Maximum Pr...

ZPCS Sets Up Radio Station at Chikurubi Maximum Prison Gallows

Munyaradzi Blessing Doma- Zim Now Writer

The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service has partnered with the Corporate Chaplaincy Services to establish a radio station at the Chikurubi Maximum Prison gallows, in a rehabilitative move designed to give inmates a platform to tell their own stories.

Following the abolishment of the death penalty on December 31 last year, when President Emmerson Mnangagwa signed the Death Penalty Abolition Bill into law, the gallows became redundant.

To put the facility to better use, ZPCS and Corporate Chaplaincy Services decided to convert the space into a radio station, which is set to go live within a month.

Speaking at the ZPCS stand at the ongoing Zimbabwe Agricultural Show, Brian Moyo, Director at Corporate Chaplaincy Services, expressed excitement over the partnership, describing it as a positive step in improving inmates’ lives.

“After the historic abolishment of the death penalty by the President of Zimbabwe, we were excited. But that also meant that the gallows were now lying idle without anything happening there,” Moyo said.

“So, through our partnership with the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service’s PR Department, Madam Khanyezi and her team, and the Commissioner General Chihobvu, we sat down and came up with a plan to start a radio station for the prison.

“We are changing a place of death into a place that broadcasts life—impacting and changing the lives of inmates, and at the same time, the lives of communities around these prisons.”

Moyo added that the project would strengthen ongoing rehabilitation efforts within the prison system.

“This will support the rehabilitative work already being carried out by ZPCS, while also helping curb crime and social challenges outside prison walls. Why? Because inmates will share their own stories and testimonials.

“They don’t have to go anywhere—the station will be inside the prison itself. It will be based at Chikurubi Maximum Prison, right in the gallows where executions used to take place, but now, through ZPCS’s work, it will become a broadcasting centre.”

He further noted that if the pilot project proves successful, broadcasts could be extended to other prisons across the country.

“We are excited about this initial stage because it is going to open more doors. We are currently setting up the radio station, and in a month or less we will be going live, since most of the work has already been completed,” said Moyo.

ZPCS spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Meya Khanyezi echoed similar sentiments, saying the initiative was part of the institution’s shift towards correctional and rehabilitative approaches following the death penalty’s abolishment.

“We saw it prudent to utilise these structures and change the story, because now our focus is more on the correctional aspect. Even here at our stand, you can see that correctional focus—our inmates are free to interact with members of the community,” she said.

“When the death penalty was abolished, it opened up a lot of opportunities. We also decided to preserve these facilities as a museum. For ZPCS and our inmates, this means we are now able to speak with our own voice and tell our own story.

“Inmates will present programmes on air, working alongside our officers as presenters. This will empower them and show that they, too, are capable of doing what their officers are doing,” Assistant Commissioner Khanyezi added.