More prisoners freed

Chronicle Reporters
A TOTAL of 181 serving prisoners were released at Bulawayo and Khami Prisons on Wednesday under the Presidential amnesty. This brings to 266 the number of inmates freed from Bulawayo’s five main correctional facilities since the beginning of the exercise on Monday.First to be released in Bulawayo’s prisons were 85 female inmates from Mlondolozi Prison on the outskirts of  Bulawayo.

The officer-in-charge of Khami Prison Complex, Chief Superintendent Shepherd Mpofu said yesterday they released 104 inmates at Khami Medium Security, the highest so far.

At Khami Maximum Security Prison 17 inmates were freed while Khami Remand liberated 10 prisoners. Bulawayo Prison formerly Grey sent home 50 inmates.

Chief Supt Mpofu said they were releasing the inmates in batches and in various categories.
“The prisoners are being released in batches to ensure that those benefiting meet the criteria set by the President. So far we have finished categories B and C, which include those serving 36 months and below and juveniles respectively.

“We are now left with categories D and F for the terminally ill and those aged 70 and above,” he said.
Those who were released yesterday were mainly for crimes such as assault, robbery, gold panning, unlawful entry and theft.

However, unlike in the case of females, serving male prisoners jailed for specified crimes such as murder, armed robbery and stocktheft are not benefitting from the Presidential amnesty.

One of the inmates released yesterday, Jephrey Mapuranga, 42, of Mt Darwin wrote and passed six O-Level subjects while  incarcerated. He was all smiles as he spoke to our news crew soon after his release from jail.

“I am so happy now that I have been freed four months earlier. I was doing my O-Level studies at prison and I managed to pass, attaining four Bs and two Cs. My wish is to proceed to A-Level and possible enroll at university,” said the determined Mapuranga.

He was convicted and jailed in July 2012 on charges of theft and was due for release in April this year.
Thabani Dumani, 21, of Plumtree, said: “I am very happy I am now free. When I went to jail, my wife was pregnant and she only gave birth three months ago. I am so excited because I am now going home to see my baby and wife.”

He was due to be released on August 23, having been convicted of charges of assaulting his wife last year in January. Dumani said his wife has since forgiven him.

William Phiri, 48, of Sigola village in Esigodini was also among those liberated. He was jailed last year for gold panning and was due for release in April.

President Mugabe extended the Presidential pardon on February 12 this year in terms of Section 112 (1) (a) and (d) of the Constitution of Zimbabwe.

There were 18,980 prisoners in Zimbabwe’s 42 prisons as of February 14 this year which is 12 percent above the holding capacity of 17,000.

President Mugabe pardoned all terminally ill prisoners who were unlikely to survive their prison terms irrespective of the offences they committed upon certification by a prison medical officer or a government medical officer.

Those aged 70 and above as of June 30 last year were also  freed regardless of the offence committed save for those sentenced to death.