President Mnangagwa Grants Amnesty To Over 4 000 Prisoners
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has ordered the release of 4 279 prisoners under the latest Presidential Amnesty.
According to the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS), a total of 4 166 men and 104 women will be released from the country’s 47 main prisons and eight satellite prisons.
In a statement released on Thursday, ZPCS spokesperson Meya Khanyezi said:
These inmates were being rehabilitated and have been serving for the offences they committed against the state therefore, those aggrieved are encouraged to forgive them for their successful reintegration into society.
According to a Statutory Instrument of an Extraordinary Government Gazette published last Friday by the Ministry of Justice, Legal, and Parliamentary Affairs, those who have been pardoned include terminally ill female prisoners and juveniles who are not serving specified offences.
Those to be released would have served one-third of their sentences by 18 April 2023 while those who remain in prison are convicts serving time for violence-related offences.
Khanyezi urged communities to forgive and embrace the inmates that have been given amnesty. She said:
We would like to appeal to the close family members, stakeholders, and the society at large to embrace and accept inmates who have been released on amnesty.
Successful reintegration of inmates back into society is not the sole mandate of ZPCS alone but it requires combined efforts from all citizens of Zimbabwe.
These inmates were being rehabilitated and have been serving for the offenses they committed against the state, therefore, those aggrieved are encouraged to forgive them for their successful reintegration into society.
The number of inmates to be released per province:
Bulawayo Metropolitan – 688 (680 males and 8 females)
Matabeleland North – 231 (230 males and 1 female)
Matabeleland South – 129 (127 males and 2 females)
Harare – 790 (770 males and 20 females)
Midlands – 537 (527 males and 10 females)
Mashonaland East – 397 (358 males and 39 females)
Mashonaland West – 340 (333 males and 7 females)
Mashonaland Central – 206 (204 males and 2 females)
Masvingo – 398 (392 males and 6 females)
Midlands – 537 (527 males and 10 females)
Zimbabwe’s prisons have a carrying capacity of 17 000 inmates but were holding more than 22 000.
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