Terrence Mukupe, the jailed former Deputy Finance Minister, has revealed that he is spending his time at Khami Maximum Prison, on the outskirts of Bulawayo, teaching Commerce to his fellow inmates.
Mukupe was recently transferred from Chikurubi Maximum Prison to the Khami Maximum Prison facility.
Speaking to the Chronicle on Thursday, August 22, during the Zimbabwe Prison and Correctional Services’ Inmates Family Week, the former deputy minister said:
We have educational facilities here at Khami and being a Maths and finance fundi, I have a group of inmates that I’m teaching the Commerce subject.
These days everyone aspires to be an entrepreneur and I find people coming to me and asking for advice on entrepreneurship and the things that they can do out there when they are released. So, I impart those skills that I have to my fellow inmates.
Mukupe praised the conditions at Khami Maximum Prison, saying they are far better than the notorious Chikurubi Maximum Security Prison in Harare. He said:
I was greatly surprised at the set-up at Khami, it’s truly a correctional facility rather than a prison when you compare it with Chikurubi Maximum Prison where I was transferred from.
I think Khami is the blueprint that should be used when talking about correctional facilities in the country.
Everyone has really been professional and it’s evident from the health of the inmates that their wellness is important here.
The one thing that will surprise people about this place is the brotherhood that you get at Khami, everyone is treated the same.
So, there are no issues to do with the social standing that one held out there before coming to this prison.
We’re all treated the same way and the rights that every prisoner is entitled to are respected, regardless of who the inmate is.
In 2023, Mukupe, along with his accomplices, Same Kapisoriso, Joseph Taderera, and Leonard Mudzuto were sentenced to three years in prison by High Court Judge Benjamin Chikowero following their conviction for fraud.
They were initially given sentences of three-and-a-half years each, but six months were suspended on the condition of good behaviour, leaving them to serve three years effectively.
In addition to the prison sentences, Mukupe and his accomplices were also fined a total of US$2,780.
The court stipulated that if they failed to pay the fine, they would face an additional two years in prison.
More: Pindula News