KARABO SEANEGO
PRISON is seen by most inmates as a way of redeeming oneself and turning over a new leaf in life. And that proved true for inmates from eight detention facilities across the province who were honoured yesterday for their academic excellence at the 8th annual regional Offender Graduation Ceremony in Pretoria.
About 116 inmates were awarded qualifications in the presence of their relatives who could not contain their emotions about the brilliant work their loved ones had been able to do behind bars.
Six inmates obtained degrees, 19 received diplomas and another 91 certificates.
Benjamin Baloyi of Johannesburg Prison, who is serving a life sentence for murder and robbery, obtained nine distinctions in his LLB. Baloyi dropped out of school in Grade 11 before he was sent to prison. But then he decided to follow his lifelong dream.
“I am thankful for the opportunity I was granted in prison because I came here with nothing.
“I had to start with my matric certificate and now I have a degree which I could not get when I was outside.
“Being in here for such a long time, you need to do something that will empower you so that when you are released you have something to hold on to,” he said.
The day, however, belonged to former Kempton Park dentist Casparus Johannes Greef who is serving a life term at Baviaanspoort Prison for killing his wife.
He got a doctor’s degree in biblical archaeology. In his thesis, he combined odontology and archaeology to convincingly indicate the value of teeth in interpreting human remains in archaeological excavations.
Greef said it took a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve his goals. “It was not easy. It took me six years to get here,” he said.
His daughters could not contain their excitement about his achievements and tears filled their eyes as he went on stage to be bestowed with his degree.
His daughter Tanya Jardine said: “We are very proud of him, not only because of the achievements but because of the circumstances under which he got the degree. He inspires me and I am considering going back to school to study again.”
Johannesburg University lecturer Dr Diana Magano congratulated the top achievers and said they had shown they were bigger than the mistakes they had committed.
“Studying through correspondence comes with challenges.
“And we appreciate you for not giving up in the face of these challenges.
“With regard to your education, you emulated a man of lofty stature, Nelson Mandela, who also obtained most of his university qualifications while in prison,” she said.