MONICA KAYOMBO, Lusaka
ANDRE Kombe, 45, is an ex-inmate who seems to have gone to Kabwe Maximum Correctional Facility to get a vocation he is now living on.
Mr Kombe, a small-scale farmer in Kasama, narrates that he is a viable small entrepreneur today because when he was behind bars, he had to choose between rotting in jail or reforming and doing something positive with his life.
“I had to work hard [in the reformatory] for my family. I wanted to be noticed so that I could be released on parole by the President using his prerogative,” he said in an interview.
Mr Kombe says he is a changed man today because he grabbed opportunities that were presented to him by the Zambia Correctional Service (ZCS) and its partners such as non-governmental organisations and the Church through the many rehabilitative programmes for inmates.
In an interview, Mr Kombe narrates how he came in conflict with the law and was thrown into jail twice. He further shares his prison experience and how his heart was transformed through prison service.
His criminal activities started after he completed his secondary school education at Luwingu Secondary School in 1997. After school, he went back to his base, Location Township in Kasama district.
Unfortunately, Mr Kombe found himself in wrong company and started cultivating and smoking marijuana as it seemed to be the CLICK TO READ MORE