504 prisoners released in Manicaland
A TOTAL of 504 prisoners walked out of the gates of the five jails in Manicaland Province last week after the proclamation of clemency by President Mnangagwa.
The 504 were part of more than 4 000 inmates who benefitted from the Presidential amnesty nationwide, which coincided with the country’s 44th Independence Day commemorations.
Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Manicaland provincial spokesperson, Chief Correctional Officer Liberty Mhlanga said the pardon was handed down in categories, with each stating distinct conditions for prisoners’ release.
“In Manicaland, Category A had seven females being released, while category C had 296 males reintegrating with the community. Category J had 199 and two females released, which cumulatively add to the grand total of 504 inmates who benefited from presidential clemency,” he said.
The amnesty was meant to decongest the country’s prisons.
The amnesty was granted under Clemency Order Number 1 of 2024, published in an Extraordinary Gazette last Tuesday, while the announcement was made by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Mrs Vimbai Nyemba, under General Notice 467 of 2024.
Last year, President Mnangagwa granted amnesty to 4 270 inmates.
The latest amnesty excludes those serving time for specified offences like murder, treason, rape or any sexual offence, carjacking, robbery, public violence, human trafficking, unlawful possession of firearm, contravention of the Electricity Act, the Postal and Telecommunications Act, the Public Order and Security Act/Maintenance of Peace and Order Act and any conspiracy, incitement or attempt to commit any of the offences listed above.
Beneficiaries of the amnesty include all female inmates who had served one third of their sentence by April 18, excluding those serving time for specified offences and those who have previously been released on amnesty.
Inmates under the age of 18 also benefited if they had served one third of their sentence, but those charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act were excluded from this amnesty.
In addition, prisoners serving an effective period of 48 months and below, and who had served one third of their sentence then, if the offences were not specified, were also released.
President Mnangagwa also pardoned inmates certified terminally ill by a Correctional Medical Officer (CMO) or a Government Medical Officer (GMO), but those charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act were excluded from the amnesty, while the Department of Correctional Services should liaise with the Department of Social Services so that there is continuity of treatment for those released.
President Mnangagwa also commuted the death sentence to life imprisonment to all inmates who have been on the death row for 10 years and above.