Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) deputy commissioner
Huggins Machingauta said at a press briefing on Sunday that the first
group of prisoners will be released on Monday.
“The provisional number or prisoners to be released is 1,727 but we
expect the number to reach 2,000 by the end of the week,” he said.
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| Prisoners in Zimbabwe |
The clemency will benefit all female prisoners except those sentenced
to death and are serving life sentence. All juveniles below 18 years
old regardless of the offence they committed, and prisoners aged 70
years and above as of June 30 last year except those on death row, will
also be pardoned.
Prisoners serving at open prisons and those certified to be
terminally ill will also be released. However, convicts serving time for
serious crimes including murder, rape, carjacking and armed robbery
will not benefit under the clemency.
The presidential amnesty is hoped to ease overcrowding in prisons
across the country, whose population stands at 18,980 against a 17,000
holding capacity. Bernama
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