Prisoners' Boxing Rehabilitation Project Rolls On

FREDERICK KEBADIRETSE
Staff Writer | Monday March 1, 2010 00:00

 

Project coordinator, Thuso 'Scud' Khubamang said he first conceptualised the idea when he was a professional boxer in the United States.

He said when he returned to Botswana, he talked with prisons' officials to implement the idea. He proposed to start by training interested inmates at the Boys' Prison in Gaborone. When he got the green-light, he started by organising open sparring sessions in the prison yard. 

He said after some negotiations, the young inmates finally got their first taste of competitive boxing last March when he organised a tournament for them.

Other prisoners showed interest in the initiative and he extended the project to facilities like the First Offenders Prison where it proved a success. Khubamang then decided to consult with the departments of Sports and Recreation; and Prisons to see how they can roll out the initiative countrywide. He explained that his has been granted and they will be embarking on a confidence-building road show in all the country's prisons from May.

The road show will not only introduce boxing to prisoners but will include other sporting activities and entertainment to give the inmates a rare opportunity to express their talents. He said besides sport, they will provide counselling and psychological services for the inmates so that they understand that they are still part of society. Khubamang said one mistake that most people make is to neglect ex-convicts once they are out of prison.

This leads the ex-prisoners to thinking that there is no other life after jail, hence they resort to crime again. He said in the initiative, they will support the inmates even when they get released from prison so that they can live a decent life after prison.

'We organise business training for interested inmates through the Local Enterprise Authority (LEA) so that they can go and start businesses of their own after serving their terms,' he said.

He added that young inmates could pursue their dreams in sport after prison and make a living out of it. Khubamang was one of the first Batswana boxers to turn professional. The former Tsholofelo and BDVC boxer went on to sign for reputable stables in South Africa and the US where he fought in a number of bouts.