By Charmaine Ndlela
The Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services (ZPCS) started a nationwide release of inmates this week after Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said 4,305 prisoners had qualified for release under a presidential amnesty aimed at easing overcrowding.
Announcing the decision in Harare, Ziyambi said 3,978 beneficiaries would immediately begin leaving correctional centres following a cabinet resolution made in February.
“This process has already commenced, and qualifying inmates are being processed for release across the country,” Ziyambi said.
Zimbabwe’s prisons held 24,089 inmates at the end of the second quarter of 2025, according to official statistics.
“Our correctional facilities are experiencing significant pressure due to overcrowding, and this measure is part of broader efforts to manage that situation humanely and responsibly,” he said.
Ziyambi said the amnesty was “targeted and merit based,” and focused on vulnerable groups and inmates who have demonstrated meaningful rehabilitation.
He stressed that public safety remained a priority.
“Those convicted of serious offences such as murder, robbery, rape and offences under the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act are not eligible under this amnesty,” Ziyambi said. “We have taken care to ensure that dangerous offenders are excluded.”
Under the amnesty, several categories of inmates will benefit, including convicted female prisoners, juveniles, prisoners serving effective sentences of 48 months or less, terminally ill inmates, prisoners in open prisons, inmates aged 60 years and above, prisoners with disabilities and life-sentenced inmates who have completed at least 20 years.
“In addition, inmates serving sentences longer than 48 months will receive an additional one quarter remission of their effective term of imprisonment,” he added.
The minister said the move reflects government’s broader commitment to justice and compassion.
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