Local Non-Govemental Organisation Zimbabwe Human Rights has urged President Mnangagwa to pardon some prisoners in order to decongest the country’s correctional facilities in the wake of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic, Newsday reports.
Speaking about the current state of Zimbabwe’s Prisons and their petition to President Mnangagwa, ZHR NGO Forum executive director Musa Kika said:
There are nearly 22 000 prisoners in Zimbabwe today against a total holding capacity of 17 000 and worryingly, the government has no strategy in place to contain the spread of the virus.
Granting of a presidential pardon is the right thing to do right now to protect the vulnerable prisoners
According to the publication, Zimbabwe Human Rights said the President must prioritize or first consider pardoning the most vulnerable groups, the elderly, people with preexisting conditions, and those in juvenile detention in their initiate to decongest the prisons.
Last year President Mnangagwa pardoned close to 5000 prisoners as ZPCS complained they were having a problem feeding the inmates.
More: Newsday