From ‘utter darkness’ to light:
a prisoner’s testimony

By Patrick Semphere, Information Officer of the Bible Society of Malawi

BLANTYRE, Malawi — When Jonathan Kanthunkako was caught stealing US$1,000 from the company where he worked as a salesman he did not feel repentant. Instead, he ran from the police, moved address and found another job, fully intending to continue his lifestyle of drinking and womanising.

‘There were 150 of us in a room meant for 80... Skin disease, diarrhoea, tuberculosis and eye infections were only some of the illnesses’

The police soon caught up with him, however, and he was arrested and eventually sentenced to four years in prison – an “experience of utter darkness” according to Mr Kanthunkako.

“There was barbed wire everywhere and there were 150 of us in a room meant for 80 people,” he said. “Skin disease, diarrhoea, tuberculosis and eye infections were only some of the illnesses that menaced us.”

In addition, the torn bedding was full of lice, the prisoners were always hungry and health care was inadequate. In the midst of these depressing surroundings Mr Kanthunkako found comfort in the regular prayer and worship sessions that the prisoners were permitted to hold.

“There was freedom of worship in the prison, and churches were allowed to come in and minister to their people,” he said. “In our rooms, we could pray on Wednesdays and Sundays. Prayer was safeguarded, not enforced, by the prison authorities.”

Although Mr Kanthunkako looked forward to the worship sessions, it was only when he fell ill in his second year in prison that he made a conscious decision to give his life to God.

‘A friend prayed and I started to feel better. I felt that God had healed me for a purpose and I decided to surrender my life to him’

“When I got sick everyone in my room pitied me,” he said. “The atmosphere was sombre and nobody wanted to listen to the radio. A friend prayed over me and I eventually started to feel better. I strongly felt that God had healed me for a purpose and I decided to surrender my life to him.”

Soon after this, Mr Kanthunkako heard a reading from God’s Word that changed his outlook on life forever. A team from the Bible Society of Malawi (BSM) visited the prison, distributing Bibles and encouraging the inmates. One of the visitors read from Acts 16: 19-40, in which Paul and Silas prayed and were released from prison.

“The message made me realise that, through God’s plan, I could be freed from prison,” he explained. “God’s Word gave me hope that prison was not the end for me and I felt a deep sense of relief.

“I understood that a person can be physically free but living in spiritual bondage. I looked at my own life and saw that I got lost because of money…and that I had forgotten all about God.”

Mr Kanthunkako spent his remaining days in prison studying God’s Word, using one of the Bibles provided by the BSM.

After his release, he found life very difficult. His prison record prevented him from finding work and he ended up selling some of his possessions in order to start his own small business. In addition, he no longer had access to a Bible.

‘God’s Word gave me hope... I understood that a person can be physically free but living in spiritual bondage’

Remembering the encouragement he received from the Bible Society while in prison, he wrote them a letter sharing his story and asking for a Bible. The BSM responded by inviting him to Bible House and presenting him with a copy of the Chichewa Bible.