HARARE: Zimbabwe on Monday began releasing nearly 4,000 inmates who were granted presidential amnesty in a bid to ease overcrowding in prisons.
The Cabinet announced the amnesty in February on the same day it approved sweeping changes to the constitution as part of a plan to extend 83-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s term till 2030.
“The nation should note that the release of the 3,978 beneficiaries begins today,” Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said at a press conference in the capital Harare.
The Cabinet announced the amnesty in February on the same day it approved sweeping changes to the constitution.
Zimbabwe’s prisons held just over 24,000 inmates in the second quarter of 2025, according to recent available national data.
