Jailed former Labour and Social Welfare Minister Petronella Kagonye said she has gained weight in prison and is writing a book on prayer which she plans to release “soon.”
Kagonye, who is incarcerated at the Chikurubi Female Prison, on Thursday told The Herald that she is fulfilling her calling as a pastor during her imprisonment. She said:
I only discovered the other side of me when l got inside here. I am actually a pastor. I went to Bible college but l never thought l would practice what I learnt. The moment l came here, l got that opportunity.
And I am writing a book which l will publish as soon as l am released. It is about prayer. I have made a lot of friends here and I have added some weight.
… l am clocking four months now inside Chikurubi Female Prison and I have learnt quite a lot.
It’s actually a community on its own with new experiences and the good thing is, for everything that happened, God has a reason and purpose.
… When you are inside here, what else can you do other than worship? I have been teaching others how to pray because l realised that there were quite a number of things that were missing.
Others have the desire to worship but the how part remains a challenge. That is why I am mainly focusing on writing a book on prayer.
Kagonye was convicted in June for diverting to her own use, 20 computers which had been donated through her by the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (POTRAZ) to benefit schools in her Goromonzi South constituency in 2018.
She was sentenced to 36 months with 12 of these set aside for five years on condition of good behaviour.
A further eight months were set aside on condition she restitutes US$10 000, the cost of the stolen laptops.