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Social workers comfort a victim during the event.

Emotional moments as victims and offenders meet

 

Some last met in court while their cases were being tried and some have not met for years. Last Friday, some victims of crime and those who had commited the crimes against them came face to face.

This was during a victim-offender dialogue session, hosted by Correctional Services at the Christ Worship House in Shayandima.

The dialogue was attended by many offenders,  prison officials, victims, different stakeholders such as traditional leadership and non-profit organizations. Correctional officials from head office, Directors Gerson Nevari and Sihawu Mageba, also attended the event.

The acting area commissioner of the Thohoyandou management area, Rev Azwinndini Mudimeli, said that they were happy that, in most instances, the victims and offenders had the opportunity to sit together and talk about what had happened and some ultimately get closure.

The aunt of a 17-year old girl who was raped by her uncle in 2013 said it was the most painful thing to have happened in the family. "We were all shocked to learn that the man had been molesting the mentally impaired girl. He is a good man, who never wronged anybody. We are still wondering as to what got into his head to committ such a crime, but we have decided to forgive him and give him a second chance in life," she said.

The offender said that he was ashamed of what had happened. "I cannot even tell what happened, but what I can say is that I am very sorry. I was sentenced to five years and I served two and half years in jail. I have done my time and I  am apologising to the family and community for what I  have done," he said.

Ms Constance Maluleke of the Malamulele Victim Empowerment Project, who supported a victim of rape, commended the department, saying the dialogue helped to heal wounds and also brought people together. "The Bible states clearly that we should forgive, and what happened here should serve as a model for us all," she said.

Time for joy. Different stakeholders, including victims and offenders, dancing to the music of Worship House.

 

Date:08 October 2016

By: Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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