Zimbabwe President Emmerson Mnangagwa announced an independence day amnesty, granting clemency to over 4,000 prisoners, including some previously sentenced to death.
The amnesty coincided with Zimbabwe’s commemoration of 44 years of independence from white minority rule, marking the end of a bloody bush war in 1980.
Notably, the country’s name was changed from Rhodesia to Zimbabwe during this transition.
The presidential pardon, the second in less than a year, prioritizes certain groups such as female, elderly, and juvenile inmates, as well as those with terminal illnesses and individuals originally sentenced to death.
Under the amnesty order announced on Wednesday, prisoners previously on death row but whose sentences were commuted to life terms or through court appeals will be released if they have served at least 20 years in prison.
Additionally, all female prisoners who have served at least one-third of their sentence by independence day, along with juvenile inmates meeting the same criteria, are eligible for release.
Furthermore, prisoners aged 60 and older who have served one-tenth of their sentences will also be freed, along with blind and disabled individuals who have served a third of their sentence.
The release of prisoners is being conducted in batches across the country.
However, certain offenders convicted of “specified” crimes, including sexual offenses, robbery, public violence, unlawful possession of firearms, human trafficking, and theft or vandalism of key infrastructure, are excluded from the amnesty.
Furthermore, all death row prisoners who have served at least 10 years had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment under the amnesty.
Although Zimbabwe currently has more than 60 inmates on death row, it remains unclear how many have had their sentences commuted to life imprisonment under this recent amnesty.
Zimbabwe is among over a dozen African countries and more than 50 worldwide that still uphold the death penalty, despite the country’s last hanging taking place in 2005.
Mnangagwa has expressed support for abolishing the death penalty, a sentiment endorsed by the Cabinet in February and now awaiting approval from Parliament.
Last May, Mnangagwa also granted clemency to over 4,000 prisoners in an effort to alleviate overcrowding and improve conditions in the nation’s prisons, which typically house around 22,000 inmates in facilities designed for 17,000.
