Geoffrey Mayamba Kuletela

Geoffrey is a Zambian prison reform advocate in a unique position to know the challenges faced by the country’s prison system: he is a former prisoner himself, having previously served 10 years. Geoffrey says “I first discovered the potential in me when I was a prisoner. I was able to convince the prison guards to allow me a place to study where I learned as much as I possibly could. Instead of letting prison take away my rights, I found my voice to claim my rights and eventually the rights of others within the prison system.” Geoffrey recalls abysmal conditions within the prison, including long pre-trial detention, extreme overcrowding and lack of health care. Geoffrey says, “I saw my colleagues finish their sentences without an appeal coming out, so they stayed. I remember how long I stayed after being arrested myself before I was able to appear before the court, much longer than the 24 hours stipulated in the Constitution. There were health challenges—people were dying day in and day out. Tuberculosis was everywhere. By the time someone was diagnosed with TB, 10-15 more people would have contracted it due to the overcrowded conditions.”

In prison, Geoffrey actively pursued studies in project planning and monitoring & evaluation. In 2007 he was released early for good behavior. This came as a surprise to Geoffrey, and he quickly came to directly experience the challenges faced by prisoners reentering society after prison. Geoffrey’s education assisted his job search, and he obtained a position with a PEPFAR-funded project on HIV/AIDS. Geoffrey says “Despite this job, my heart wanted to work on issues related to the prisons. Around this time, the government reached out to me for an audit they were doing on prison conditions, as they had heard of my educational successes in prison.” The project included research visits to prisons in Zambia – including the one where Geoffrey had served his sentence. Of this experience, Geoffrey says “It gave me memories and also gave me hope, in that my new plans for my life were a result of passing through prison. As I went around all of the prisons, it was saddening to see my colleagues who had been released prior to me serving in other prisons. This helped to illuminate the vital importance of reintegration services.”

In 2011, Geoffrey founded his own organization, Prisoners Future Foundation (PFF). Geoffrey says “Prisoners are human beings and they need a true second chance. They need hope and they need to be encouraged. I felt like I could be the right person to be a part of this bandwagon, so that I could give voice to these concerns on their behalf. They were not being given a platform to voice their concerns. The fact that I had been down this path made me realize I needed to work for my colleagues so that they could enjoy their human rights.”

Geoffrey now hopes to advance PFF’s work and to make PFF sustainable. Geoffrey says, “The networking with current and past HRAP participants was my favorite aspect of the program. I was able to learn from my fellow advocates who are working for prison reform in their countries, and I am very thankful for this. For me, doing this program was an opportunity to open windows into understanding different ways that this work is being done, from Western countries to countries like my own.”

The skills in resource mobilization that Geoffrey acquired from the HRAP have assisted him in securing funding from the Germany Development Cooperation for programming that focuses on the provision of free legal aid services to indigent and marginalized prisoners and additional funding from the European Union, for programming centred on the rehabilitation and reintegration of ex-inmates. He remains indebted to the HRAP journey that exposed him to doing business differently.