By Palesa Mofoti
Partially blind Maria Motale (67) was overjoyed to finally have a brick and mortar house of her own in the twilight of her years in the village of Ntswelengwe in Kuruman.
Ronald Lamola, the Minister for Justice and Correctional Services handed over the newly built and fully furnished house to an excited Motale. The house handover took place on the occasion of the department’s ministerial Imbizo in the neighbouring village of Manyeding on 7 September.
Motale’s plight had been highlighted by members of the Juventus Football Club in Kuruman. The club had in partnership with the Department of Correctional Services, Old Mutual and anonymous sponsors noticed the appalling state Motale, who is also partially blind, was living in a one roomed mud house that was crumbling with her 30-year-old son for many years.
Juventus FC, who had been attending to Motale’s plight approached the department of Justice and Correctional Services for help in constructing Motale’s house. The department agreed to release sentenced prisoners who were trained in artisan skills and had coincidentally received their certificates on the same day.
Numerous dignitaries were present at the department’s ministerial imbizo. These included Nomandla Bloem MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison, Makgothi Thobakgale national Commissioner of Correctional Services, representatives from Old Mutual, Juventus Football Club, Dineo Leutlwetse-Tshabalala the mayor of Joe Morolong local municipality as well Kgosi Toto wa Batlharo in her capacity as chairperson of the House of Traditional and Khoisan Leaders.
Minister Lamola stated due to the destitute nature of Mme Motale’s living circumstances it prompted the department to restore the dignity of the elderly woman. Lamola stressed that it was important for the department to play a role in bridging the gap between the inmates, community, and society. This allowed the inmates to participate in processes of community integration, he stated.
According to minister Lamola, the Kuruman Correctional Centre has a bed capacity of three hundred and fourteen with the total number of inmates standing at three hundred and sixty-five (365).
He said fifty percent of the inmates, approximately one hundred and eighty-three were convicted of rape, fifteen percent (15%) of inmates were convicted of murder, ten percent (10%) of inmates were convicted of both housebreaking and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Lamola pleaded with the dignitaries present to stand up and curb this scourge of crime in our community. “As men, gender-based violence cannot happen in our name”.
The ministry of correctional services promised to engage and have direct discussions with men in the community of Kuruman to deal with the mentality of abuse. In this regard Lamola also promised to also engage with the private sector, including the mines in the area to join in the battle against gender-based violence. “Men must be people of positive influence in society and their roles must be different, ” he pleaded.
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