Zimbabwe frees almost 4,000 inmates underneath presidential amnesty

Zimbabwe on Monday (March 2, 2026) started releasing almost 4,000 inmates who have been granted presidential amnesty in a bid to ease overcrowding in prisons.

The Cupboard introduced the amnesty in February, on the identical day it authorized sweeping adjustments to the Structure as a part of a plan to increase 83-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s time period until 2030.

“The nation ought to observe that the discharge of the three,978 beneficiaries begins at present,” Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi stated at a press convention within the capital Harare.

Zimbabwe’s prisons held simply over 24,000 inmates within the second quarter of 2025, in line with latest out there nationwide knowledge.

A complete of 4,305— together with 223 ladies— would finally be launched, Mr. Ziyambi stated, with the scheme “specializing in weak teams and people who have demonstrated vital progress of their rehabilitation”.

The transfer “displays a profound dedication to restorative justice, nationwide compassion and the strategic decongestion of correctional amenities”, the Minister stated.

The amnesty scheme didn’t embrace prisoners convicted of extreme crimes resembling homicide, theft, rape or “contravention of the Upkeep of Peace and Order Act”— a cost that has been used previously in opposition to protesters and political Opposition.

The southern African nation has been stirred since final yr by rising anger in opposition to Mr. Mnangagwa and his ruling Zanu-PF occasion, with main opposition figures denouncing a constitutional “coup” after the constitutional amendments authorized by the Cupboard final month.

The amendments— which nonetheless must move Parliament, weighted in favour of the Zanu-PF— embrace extending the presidential time period to seven years and scrapping normal presidential elections by giving parliament the facility to decide on the President.