JAILED radio and television personality, Oscar Pambuka’s admission that he made a mistake, is commendable.
He said this when he addressed Mutoko students and villagers during an educational tour on Monday along with other inmates.
Mai TT and Zim dancehall chanter Chigudo Chihomu Homu were among the entourage at Munashe High School.
However, Pambuka stole the limelight as he gave a touching speech in his address.
The veteran broadcaster, who was convicted of fraud, urged students to desist from criminal activities and drugs.
Pambuka said crime does not pay and when it catches up with you, the repercussions are grim.
He said he was now a changed man and was different from the person who ended up being wooed into the criminal activities which landed him in prison.
Pambuka also revealed that he was getting help from the correctional officers in prison.
His decision to embrace the consequences of his actions is commendable and shows that he is responding well to rehabilitation in prison.
He also made a passionate plea to fellow journalists not to forget about him despite all the challenges which he is facing.
He urged them to support him as he deals with his darkest hour.
The former ZBC journalist erred but that doesn’t mean his profession should turn its back on him.
We also hope that he will use the advice he got from the correctional officers and he will be a reformed man when he is finally released.
It was refreshing to see the students at the school listening attentively to his address.
This was key because they were the target of his powerful message.
One of the messages here was that the law does not segregate and it doesn’t matter that one is a big celebrity, as Pambuka was, before his world collapsed around him.
The second message was that criminal activities, by their nature, are very tempting.
And, the kids who were listening, will certainly get a fair share of temptations as they navigate their way in life.
What would be important for them is to make sure they are not lured by the same temptations into the dark world where Pambuka finds himself today.
There was another celebrity at the same function.
Mai TT also addressed the students and said she was now homesick and missing her children.
She has already revealed that she used to live a fake lifestyle, which she blamed for the challenges which led to her imprisonment.
It’s quite refreshing when some of the jailed celebrities use their experience to teach others to desist from criminal activities.
Their fate has come as a reminder that we should all try to lead a crime-free life to avoid trouble.
As they say, crime does not pay and we should all try our best to desist from criminal activities.