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| Prisoner Sibuthweyinkosi Mlotshwa showcases her talent at HIFA 2012 |
It is through dance that Magarette Makotose realised how “people appreciate her as a human being with a talent of entertaining” and not judge her with the sins of her past.
Dancing to various songs that included the late Sungura King Tongai Moyo’s Zakeo and Busi Ncube’s True Love together with other members of the Khami School of Arts at last week’s Harare International Festival of the Arts brought out the best in her.
Her joy in doing what she loves best was never doubted in her body language. Her school mate, 26-year-old Sibuthweyinkosi Mlotshwa, said she used to look down upon herself and “never knew I had this talent of dancing.”
She was moved with how the crowd showed great appreciation of their performance. It was their smiles and good interaction with the public that left many wondering the unlikely prisoners they are.
The two women are inmates at Khami Prison in Bulawayo where Mlotshwa is serving her six months term for fraud while Makotose has three more years to her total of ten for a murder case back in 2005.
Makotose and Mlotshwa who are both mothers to young boys are part of the Zimbabwe Prison Services (ZPS) arts programme that has seen inmates performing at the annual festival.
They told The Zimbabwean “performing in front of a crowd has reminded us that we are still human beings people from outside (the prison) can cheer for the good things that we can do and not jeer for the bad things we have done.”
Arts and Culture Officer in the ZPS, James Joni, who was the brains behind the programme back in 2001, attribute the rise of the arts in the prison to the Commissioner of Prisons, Paradzai Zimondi.
“There is a bright future in the Zimbabwe Prison and this will be seen by the talent displayed by inmates. Commissioner Zimondi needs to be applauded for giving me the green light to kick-start the project,”he said.
Joni who has been in ZPS for the past 29 years said he has come to understand inmates and appreciate their talents. They started performing at HIFA last year after showcasing at provincial festivals in recent years.
But have they never attempted to escape each time they are out for a show outside the prison?
“These are people we have worked with for a long time; we have been with them enough to know that they are disciplined, determined and dedicated in what I call the three Ds of an artist. It is a way of helping them realise their talents and prepare them for a life back in the community. But it is important for people to welcome them and give them a second chance in life.”
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