Durban - Matthew Govender was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment 16 years ago. He entered the system suicidal and an alcoholic, but as he nears the end of his sentence, the now 41-year-old sees a new future for himself, as a restaurateur.
Govender was one of 60 inmates at Durban’s Westville Prison who graduated from the Bosasa catering course on Thursday .
It is a short course, offered to inmates on a regular basis, and as Correctional Services and Bosasa officials who spoke at the graduation ceremony said, it provides skills inmates can use when they are released and the chance to reintegrate themselves into society.
The ceremony was attended by the inmates’ families. One graduate’s mother was overwhelmed with emotion when he walked up on stage.
As he walked off, she burst into tears and threw her arms around him. Another was rushed by his young daughter as he posed for photographs.
For Govender, the ceremony was especially important as it marked the culmination of a course he said gave his life new purpose.
During his time behind bars, Govender threw himself into furthering his studies.
“I’ve done so many courses, you could call me a book,” he quipped. He completed his Bachelor of Theology degree and said it was only through his faith that he was able to turn his life around. “But sometimes you’re searching for something and you don’t know what it is until you find it,” he said.
That was how he described discovering that he wanted to pursue a career in food and hospitality.
“This course gave me a direction, in terms of my career,” he said. It also taught him basic life skills. During the course he had learnt to carry a knife pointing downwards. “It’s a simple thing, but I didn’t know it before,” he explained.
“The stuff we learnt was unbelievable. We learnt how to make Swiss roll ... We’ve been practising. Now even the warders have started eating it, they can’t believe we can make it.”
When released, he planned “starting small”. “I want to open a takeaway and then a restaurant,” he said. He was adamant that he would fulfil his dream of opening a restaurant. It had been a goal of his mother’s too and that gave it impetus.
Govender’s passion was health food and he described himself as a “health-conscious guy”. “To look good, you have to eat good.”
His family was a great source of support for Govender who said there was a time when they didn’t believe a word he said, “because I was just a drunk. But they believe in me now. My boy, he’s 20 and he was here, it’s almost like he’s saying he’s giving me a second chance”.
The Mercury