Section 112 of the Constitution of Zimbabwe empowers the
President after consultation with Cabinet, to exercise the power of mercy to
grant pardon to any person concerned in or
convicted of an offence against law.
The proposed general amnesty is targeted at all prisoners
who have served at least one third of
their sentences, save for those convicted of specified offences such as the
following: murder, treason, rape or any sexual offence, car-jacking, robbery,
stock theft, and public violence.
There shall be full remission of sentence to be granted to
all prisoners who would have served life imprisonment for at least 15 years
commutation.
The amnesty will de-congest the prison institution whose
population currently stands at 20 407 against the prison’s holding capacity of
17 000.
The overpopulation already poses a health hazard,
especially considering the Covid-19 pandemic and the recommended measures to
curtail the spread of the disease.
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