Walking out of prison should mark the beginning of freedom.
For 21-year-old Elemiya Njati, however, the day the gates of Byanzi Young Offenders Rehabilitation Centre opened was not the beginning of a new life. It was the beginning of another struggle.
His sentence for unlawful wounding expired in January 2026. He had served his time and, in the eyes of the law, was free.
But freedom came with an empty house, an empty stomach and no one waiting to help him rebuild his life.
Eight months after his release, a visit by officers from the Social Work and Restorative Justice Office at Byanzi Young Offenders Rehabilitation Centre found Njati living alone in a dilapidated house in Madisi.
His story is a painful reminder that leaving prison does not necessarily mean leaving hardship behind.
“From the time I got released in January, I came back to stay here alone,” Njati said, pointing to the house. “For me to eat, it means I have to do piecework.”
Njati lost both parents when he was young.
His grandmother became his main source of support and helped him establish a small business selling goat meat. But when she died, the business collapsed, leaving him without a reliable source of income.
Today, survival depends largely on casual labour.
Neighbour and well-wisher Gideon Jonas has witnessed the young man’s difficulties first-hand.
“It’s sad to say that for him to eat, it’s either he does piecework or I share some leftovers with him,” Jonas said. “If neither happens, he sleeps on an empty stomach with no hope, not even for the next day.”said Jonas.
Njati’s situation raises an uncomfortable question about rehabilitation: What happens when a person leaves prison with new skills and a willingness to change, but has nowhere to use those skills?
The Malawi Prisons Service places rehabilitation among the key principles of its correctional work. But rehabilitation does not end at the prison gate.
For former inmates, the real test often begins when they return to communities where opportunities may be limited and their criminal records may continue to define them.
For some former inmates, however, the transition is showing signs of hope.
Twenty-year-old Lingisoni Hestings, who was released under a recent presidential amnesty, is one example.
According to his step father Damiano Namiyaka, Hestings has become more cooperative, respectful and willing to listen to advice since returning home.
“My son used to come home late before prison and would not take anyone’s advice. Now he is totally different,” Namiyaka his step father said.
Namiyaka recalled advising his son that staying out late could make people suspicious of him. Hestings, he said, listened.
“He respected that advice. He is mostly just home,” he added.
Hestings was among four former inmates visited by social work and restorative justice officers from Byanzi Young Offenders Rehabilitation Centre during an aftercare monitoring exercise in Madisi and Mponela.
The exercise is part of the centre’s routine aftercare programme, designed to support former inmates as they transition from prison back into their families and communities.
For 19-year-old Yesaya Mailosi, one of the former inmates, the transformation has been particularly visible. Mailosi was convicted of theft.
“You see, this time you are visiting me at noon, you have found me WHEN LIFE GETS
This creates another hurdle in the rehabilitation journey.
A former inmate may complete a sentence, change his behaviour and acquire practical skills, but still face suspicion from employers, neighbours and members of the wider community.
For the young men visited by the officers, rebuilding that trust will take time.
They told the officers that they understood the concerns of their communities and were prepared to demonstrate through responsible behaviour that they had changed.
Byanzi Social Worker Warder Sylvester Chipalasa encouraged parents and guardians to continue supporting former inmates with love and understanding while avoiding language that could stigmatise them.
Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding Officer Sergeant Frank Masiku similarly urged the young men to maintain good behaviour and seek help when facing difficulties that could put them at risk of re-offending.
He encouraged them to communicate with their families and prison authorities rather than attempting to face their challenges alone.
Mental health expert Kate Chipili says reintegration should be viewed as a gradual process rather than an event that ends when a prisoner is released.
She advocates for stronger community-based programmes where former inmates can access professional counselling and receive regular follow-up as they adjust to life outside prison.
“Such support, can help former inmates deal with psychological and social challenges while reducing the risk of returning to offending behaviour”, says Chipili.
Victor Mhango, Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA), also stresses the importance of community acceptance.
Mhango says people who have completed their sentences can struggle to rebuild their lives when communities continue to reject them.
“We have the Prisons Act, which provides for a Labour Fund, recognising that work undertaken in prison can provide inmates with financial support while also helping to prepare them for life after release”, Mhango explains.
For Hestings, Mailosi, Njati and Mwale, rehabilitation therefore continues long after the prison doors have opened.
Their experiences show two sides of life after imprisonment: the possibility of meaningful behavioural change and the difficult reality of rebuilding livelihoods, relationships and trust.
Njati’s empty house and uncertain meals show what can happen when a former inmate leaves prison without a strong support system. Mailosi’s new skills and changed habits demonstrate what rehabilitation can achieve when an individual has something to build on.
Ultimately, a second chance is not created by release alone.
It requires families willing to support, communities willing to accept, employers willing to provide opportunities and former inmates willing to demonstrate through their actions that they are ready to change.
For these young men, prison may have ended.
But their rehabilitation journey continues—one day, one opportunity and one second chance at a time.
Before, you would have found me already drunk. But since my release from prison, I’ve never taken alcohol,” he said.
Mailosi acknowledged that alcohol abuse had been one of the factors discussed during counselling sessions while he was in prison.
He also said the skills he acquired while incarcerated, including hair cutting and farming, were now helping him earn a living and remain productive.
For Mailosi, the skills acquired behind prison walls have become tools for rebuilding his life outside them.
But for others, including Njati and Albert Mwale, who was convicted of theft, the challenge is not simply changing behaviour. It is finding people willing to give them an opportunity.
The four former inmates were found to be struggling financially. Some people who had previously offered them piecework were reportedly hesitant to employ them because of their criminal records.
This creates another hurdle in the rehabilitation journey.
A former inmate may complete a sentence, change his behaviour and acquire practical skills, but still face suspicion from employers, neighbours and members of the wider community.
For the young men visited by the officers, rebuilding that trust will take time.
They told the officers that they understood the concerns of their communities and were prepared to demonstrate through responsible behaviour that they had changed.
Byanzi Social Worker Chipalasa encouraged parents and guardians to continue supporting former inmates with love and understanding while avoiding language that could stigmatise them.
Restorative Justice and Peacebuilding Officer Sergeant Frank Masiku similarly urged the young men to maintain good behaviour and seek help when facing difficulties that could put them at risk of re-offending.
He encouraged them to communicate with their families and prison authorities rather than attempting to face their challenges alone.
Mental health expert Kate Chipili says reintegration should be viewed as a gradual process rather than an event that ends when a prisoner is released.
She advocates for stronger community-based programmes where former inmates can access professional counselling and receive regular follow-up as they adjust to life outside prison.
“Such support, can help former inmates deal with psychological and social challenges while reducing the risk of returning to offending behaviour”, says Chipili.
Victor Mhango, Founder and Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights Education, Advice and Assistance (CHREAA), also stresses the importance of community acceptance.
Mhango says people who have completed their sentences can struggle to rebuild their lives when communities continue to reject them.
“We have the Prisons Act, which provides for a Labour Fund, recognising that work undertaken in prison can provide inmates with financial support while also helping to prepare them for life after release”, Mhango explains.
For Hestings, Mailosi, Njati and Mwale, rehabilitation therefore continues long after the prison doors have opened.
Their experiences show two sides of life after imprisonment: the possibility of meaningful behavioural change and the difficult reality of rebuilding livelihoods, relationships and trust.
Njati’s empty house and uncertain meals show what can happen when a former inmate leaves prison without a strong support system. Mailosi’s new skills and changed habits demonstrate what rehabilitation can achieve when an individual has something to build on.
Ultimately, a second chance is not created by release alone.
It requires families willing to support, communities willing to accept, employers willing to provide opportunities and former inmates willing to demonstrate through their actions that they are ready to change.
For these young men, prison may have ended.
But their rehabilitation journey continues—one day, one opportunity and one second chance at a time.
