“Twenty years ago I was working as a driver in Lebowakgomo at the Limpopo legislature driving members of the provincial executive council. At the time in the early 2000s, Ngoako Ramatlhodi was the premier of Limpopo. I was married and my wife and I had a son. My wife wanted to go to university and further her studies, she wanted to study nursing, which I supported,” Robert started his story. “I used to visit her from time to time when I had an opportunity. Then there came a time that she told me to call first if I wanted to visit her, which made me suspicious.

I found out that she was cheating on me with another student there. “We talked about it but we could not resolve it, so one day I went to visit her without calling first and found her in bed with another man. I always carried my gun on my person as I drove members of the provincial legislature around. I was furious, reached for my gun, and shot her,” he said. He said that he could not control his anger and he was not thinking when he acted.

“What I did can not be excused and it is something that I will regret for the rest of my life. I was taken into custody, it was my first time in prison. At first, I was in Polokwane, from there I was transferred to the Matatshe prison and from there I was placed at Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Centre where I stayed for about 10 years. I was then returned to Matatshe where I was eventually told that I am eligible for parole,” he said. “While in prison, I realised that you can choose how to live your life. The prison wardens give you 20% and you have to come with 80% if you want to live a better life.

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“In prison there is gangsterism, so you have to choose if you want to be in a gang or whether you want to improve your schooling. Most prisoners are in a gang and they make your life hell if decide to go to school. They claim that you are trying to act as though you are better than them. He said you are denounced by fellow inmates as being stupid for not joining a gang. Being in a gang means being involved in bad stuff which happens inside, stuff like stabbings and rapes, which adds more years to your sentence.”

He said he chose the school and started doing motivational speaking inside the prison. “Prisoners who wanted to turn over a new leaf would approach me and we would help each other. The wardens liked me for that, and that inspired me to want to do the same thing once I was released.” He said that shortly after he was let out on parole, he approached the police to assist him in his quest to visit schools together with the Department of Correctional Services.

“My reason was not to scare them, but for them to understand that life in prison is way worse than what they may have witnessed on television,” said Robert. Before visiting a school to deliver a motivational talk, he informs his parole officer so that the department is aware of his whereabouts. Robert also says that his relationship with his late wife’s family and the whole community has improved. “It was a very long process, and I really did not expect them to pretend as though nothing had happened.

“I asked my correctional officer to assist me in setting up a meeting with my late wife’s family so that I can ask for their forgiveness. They approach them with a request on whether they were willing to meet with me and listen to what I had to say. They agreed and we sat down and talked about everything. They forgave me and said they too wanted to move on with their lives and that holding a grudge would not bring their loved one back.

“I was grateful to hear that I was forgiven as it helped me move on with my life too. My relationship with my son is also good and the community has welcomed me back,” he added. He said he hopes to one day return to prison to share his story with other prisoners. Anyone interested in Robert giving his motivational speech or would like to assist him in achieving his mission to inform the youth, can contact him on 082 353 3785.