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Inmate ties the knot in prison

Rutendo Nyeve, Sunday News Reporter

WEDDINGS by nature are joyful occasions replete with all the glitz and glamour, pomp and fanfare but for a wedding behind the concrete walls and iron bars of a maximum security prison, it is an event beyond anyone’s imagination.

In what has been described as a first of its kind in Zimbabwe, a 57-year-old inmate, Biggie Dube was a class above the ordinary inmates as he tied the knot with his high school love bird, Blessing Tafirenyika (56) at a colourful wedding ceremony held at Khami Maximum Prison yesterday.


Biggie Dube gets congradulated by his fellow inmates at Khami Maximum prison after defying the odds and tying the knot behind the Khami Maximum prison walls in Bulawayo yesterday.Picture Melusi M Ncube

Dube of Old Lobengula in Bulawayo, who made headlines after re-uniting with his 37-year-old son at Khami Maximum Prison was convicted and sentenced to an effective 16 years in prison for raping his then “girlfriend.”

As if that is not enough to the imagination of the people, the best man of the day, was his younger brother, Timothy Munhare who is serving 40 years for armed robbery and carjacking.

With prison providing a slew of unique costumes and specific dress codes that are often followed with detailed discipline, Dube was temporarily allowed to hang the usual orange attire to put on a suit — a wedding etiquette and navigate all for the joy that is a microcosm of the happiness expected in his matrimonial home after being released in four years’ time.

It is his self-declared promiscuous nature which Dube described not only as a habit that led to his incarceration but one that has led him to commit to Tafirenyika through a lawful holy matrimony.

Biggie Dube and Blessing Tafirenyika-Dube after tying the knot behind the prison walls of Khami Maximum yesterday.

“I was in the habit of having so many girlfriends and as we speak I have 13 children with several women. Over the years I separated with Tafirenyika whom we met in 1987 at Dadaya Mission and went on to have four children.

“After these separation episodes, that is when I engaged in promiscuous activities till I met the lady who got me arrested,” narrated Dube just before the wedding.


Different Inmate groups perform congradulatory song and dance during the first of its kind wedding ceremony held at Khami Maximum prison yesterday.

He said following the unfortunate incident, he used one of the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) rehabilitation initiatives, the Family Week sometime in August 2024 to talk to Tafirenyika and convince her that he was ready to commit to her through a wedding.

“After I spoke to her and she agreed, I began processing papers through ZPCS offices in October and due to the rehabilitative nature which prisons have taken, I was granted permission and we organised this wedding. It’s a first of its kind and I am setting an example for other inmates,” said Dube.

On the other hand, Tafirenyika said she committed to a wedding at the prison not only to show his love for Dube but to inspire other women with their husbands behind bars to make sure they support them as it is not the end of life.


Incarcerated ex-finance Minister Terrence Mukupe congradulates newly married Biggie Dube at Khami Maximum prison yesterday

“I have known Biggie since 1987, but along the way we separated, but ended up re-uniting again. I realised that we made a mistake, the reason why he was in prison was that I had left him. If I had not left him, I do not think he was going to be here.

“So I am here to tie our union with him. I am also doing this to show other ladies out there that when your man is incarcerated, it is not the end of the world. You have to wait for them, they need our support, so this is my big day,” said Tafirenyika.

Khami Maximum Prison Officer-In-Charge Chief Superintendent Panonetsa Chemugarira, said the wedding, which is a first of its kind was a major milestone in the organisation’s efforts to rehabilitate and re-integrate inmates.


Biggie Dube

“We witnessed a wedding here at Khami Maximum Prison. I am feeling very excited about this occasion because we thought if we allow inmates to wed while inside the prison, it is going to play an important role in their rehabilitation as well as their re-integration.

Blessing Tafirenyika

“This is a very critical moment in the rehabilitation of inmates. It is a step further in the efforts that the organisation is undertaking to ensure that inmates are being rehabilitated. For sure, if an inmate weds here, we are certain that during his re-integration we are going to maintain family ties as he leaves prison to go and join his family,” said Chief Supt Chemugarira.

The wedding was attended by traditional leaders, relatives from the two families, church members, and other inmates.

The families of the newlyweds provided the catering and the décor.

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