Amnesty for petty offenders as thousands die in jail
From The Zimbabwean – 2nd September 2009
HARARE-With nowhere else to run and few people left to blame, President Robert Mugabe has conceded that the country’s prison system has collapsed while inmates continue to succumb to treatable diseases.
So serious is the situation that President Mugabe was forced to make an order that has been cited as the Clemency Order No 1 of 2009 through the government gazette Vol LXXXVII, No 60 of 21 August 2009 which serves to release inmates from custody in a variety of categories.
At least 1 544 inmates are expected to benefit from the President’s mercy.
The dire circumstances had led to trials failing to take place effectively trampling on the constitutional rights of suspects and prisoners.
Last month, the Justice Ministry committed itself to alleviating the plight of prisoners whose death toll had risen to over 1000 in the first four months of the year.
In light of the above and the in concurrence with the 100 day government plan, the Zimbabwe Prison Service through its acting public relations officer Elizabeth Banda said: “Due to inadequate financial resources coupled with the unfavorable economic environment, the ZPS has faced challenges in fulfilling its set objectives and statutory obligations which include provision of prisoners’ rations, clothing and bedding, toiletries and transport among others.
“As a short term relief option to try and contain some of these challenges seriously and negatively impacting on the effective and efficient administration of prisoners, a proposal to have a general amnesty granted to inmates was submitted to the Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs.”
Categories which have been cited include; full remission of remainder of sentences for convicted female prisoners, save for those serving for specified offences, full remission of remainder of sentences for convicted juveniles, full remission of sentences for prisoners sentenced to 36 months and below who will have served a quarter of their sentences save for those serving specified offences, full remission of remaining period of imprisonment to all terminally ill prisoners upon certification by a prison medical officer of government medical officer of the fact that they are unlikely to survive their prison terms provided they are not serving for specified offences.”
Banda said a full remission of sentence has been granted to all inmates serving terms of imprisonment at open prisons provided they are not serving specified offences.
She added that all inmates sentenced to life in prison or to long terms of imprisonment on or before May 31 1989 and have served 20 years of more have also been granted full remission of the remaining period of imprisonment.
Prisoners excluded from amnesty include those on death row, habitual criminals serving a sentence of extended imprisonment, any person who escaped from custody and is still at large, person on bail pending appeal against conviction or sentence, persons serving sentences imposed by a court martial and persons serving sentences of imprisonment for a specified offence.
Specified offences include murder, rape or any sexual offence, carjacking, armed robbery, stock theft, tampering with apparatus for generating, transmitting, distributing or supplying electricity with results of electricity interruption or cutting off and damaging destroying or interfering with any apparatus for generating transmitting distributing or supplying electricity. Conspiracy and being an accessory to the offences above.
