Beverly Bizeki
Only six female prison inmates of the 375 total inmates were released in Masvingo province on May 18, 2023 under the amnesty proclaimed by President Emmerson Mnangagwa recently.
Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) Provincial Public Relations Officer Stanslous Sanike confirmed the statistics and said the inmates were released on May 18.
“As Masvingo province, we have released 375 inmates, six of which are females,” said Sanike.
He urged members of the community to play their roles in the rehabilitation of ex-convicts by accepting them back in society.
“We urge members of the community to accept the ex-prisoners who have just been released under the presidential amnesty to play their role in the rehabilitation of these inmates by accepting them back into society so that they do commit crimes and go back to jail where they have been,” he added.
Sanike also said inmates released have been equipped with new skills to help them survive after spending time in prison.
“We offer rehabilitation programmes such as motor mechanics, education and agriculture to inmates to ensure that they can have something to do when they get out of prison,” said Sanike.
The amnesty offered to non-violent prisoners has seen the release of 4 279 inmates countrywide with 104 being women while those serving violent crimes remained behind bars.
Among those pardoned were the terminally ill, females and juveniles who were not serving specified offences. From Harare Central Prison, a total of 405 mostly elderly inmates were released.
