A senior official at His Majesty’s Correctional Services (HMCS) has raised concerns over a growing number of inmates who remain incarcerated beyond their eligible release dates.
This is because their families and communities have rejected them, highlighting a serious challenge in the reintegration of former offenders into society. Matsapha Correctional Services Officer-in-Charge Jabulani Kunene revealed that there were currently 84 cases of inmates who, despite being ready for release, could not leave the Correctional system because they have no place to return to and no community willing to accept them.
Kunene made these remarks during a recent dissemination meeting on the Correctional Assessment Report, drawing attention to an often-overlooked aspect of the rehabilitation process.
Kunene explained that HMCS followed a structured support system designed to ensure that inmates who have served their time were smoothly reintegrated into society. This system required that an inmate, upon release, must have a secure home to return to where their basic welfare, including shelter and food, is guaranteed.
Additionally, the Correctional Services must inform the community about the impending release to ensure no surprises and to gauge the sentiments of the community members towards welcoming the returning individual.
“The sentiments of the community are very important to obtain and weigh. Furthermore, the question on where the inmate will be based and working as a freeman needs to be clearly articulated. Home and community support systems are key to successful reintegration,” he said.
However, in many cases, this reintegration proved impossible. Kunene shared that some families had outrightly rejected the notion of taking back their imprisoned relatives, expressing that they do not want the individual back in their lives or homes. In some instances, it is not only the immediate family but the entire community that resists the return of the former inmate, leaving the correctional system in a difficult position.
“We have cases where when we informed the home or family of the inmate, the response we got was that they did not need this person there ever again,” Kunene said. “Sometimes the entire community resists the inmate. To me, this means that healing has not taken place in some of the families and communities.”
This rejection often stemmed from the nature of the crimes committed and the lingering emotional and psychological wounds left on victims, families, and communities. As a result, some former inmates find themselves homeless, marginalised, and unable to rebuild their lives.
This lack of acceptance could lead to a tragic cycle where former inmates, feeling unwanted and unsupported, return to criminal behaviour simply as a means of survival or due to despair.
“ Some families and communities are still bleeding from the pain of their crimes,” Kunene disclosed.
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