John Segola asks rhetorically. He does not look like a man who is ashamed of his past. He says that since serving a 10-year prison sentence he has changed his life. In August, he will be ordained as a deacon of the African Episcopal Church. He aims to become a pastor. He has already completed a Diploma in Theology and his wish is to obtain a Master's degree. His church is willing to sponsor him for further studies overseas but there is one catch. He cannot be allowed to go overseas because of his previous conviction.
"It is a life sentence. I served my sentence. I didn't desert. I didn't escape from prison. I admitted that I had done wrong and served my sentence. But I am still being punished for my crime, and I wasn't even sentenced for life," he says. Matters of the rights of ex-convicts troubled Segola so much that in 2008, he joined hands with other ex-inmates to form the Botswana Institute of Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Offenders (BIRRO). The organisation has more than 30 members with Segola as the director. He says that their advisors include Alice Mogwe, director of human rights advocacy group Ditshwanelo as well as Marks Ramodise of Nkgwana Holdings, who sometimes gives them financial assistance.
