HARARE, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa has granted amnesty to various categories of prisoners ahead of the country's 44th Independence Day, which falls on April 18, according to a Government Gazette Extraordinary dated Tuesday.

The president has granted full remission of the remaining terms of imprisonment to all female prisoners who will have served two-thirds of their sentences by Thursday, according to a general notice published in the Government Gazette by the Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs, Vimbai Nyemba.

Prisoners who have been on death row for more than 10 years will have their sentences commuted to life imprisonment, while those serving life sentences will be released provided they have served at least 20 years, the notice said.

Nyemba said Mnangagwa had issued Clemency Order No. 1 of 2024, which, however, excludes those who would have been imprisoned for specified offenses.

Inmates who will have benefited from previous amnesties, those serving sentences imposed by a Court Martial and those with records of escaping from lawful custody will also be excluded from the amnesty, the notice said.

There will also be full remission of the remaining period of imprisonment for all juveniles under 18 years who would also have served a third of their sentences by Thursday, the notice said.

However, juveniles charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act will not benefit, it added.

Prisoners sentenced to 48 months or less will also benefit, provided they will have served their sentences by Thursday and that they have not been convicted of specified offenses, the notice said.

Prisoners aged 60 and above will also be pardoned if they have served one-tenth of their sentences by Thursday, provided they were not charged under the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, the notice said.

It said there will also be full remission of the remaining period of imprisonment to all inmates who are certified by a Correctional Medical Officer or a Government Medical Officer to be visually impaired.

Those who are physically challenged to the extent that they cannot be catered for in a prison or correctional environment will have served one-third of their sentences, the notice said.

There will also be an additional one-quarter remission of the effective term of imprisonment to those prisoners who were sentenced to more than 48 months and who would have served at least one-third of their sentence by Thursday, it added.

Zimbabwe's prisons are generally overcrowded and granting of amnesties is one way of alleviating the problem. Enditem

Related

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)