Zimbabwe releases prisoners in amnesty, reducing overcrowding

By FARAI MUTSAKA
Associated Press

HARARE, Zimbabwe (AP) — Zimbabwe has begun releasing more than 4,000 prisoners under a presidential amnesty. Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Services spokeswoman Meya Khanyezi said the amnesty would “go a long way in reducing the prison population.” Former prisoners have previously complained about harsh conditions such as overcrowding, a lack of food and poor health care. Zimbabwe’s prisons have a capacity of 17,000 but hold more than 20,000 inmates. President Emmerson Mnangagwa also commuted the sentences of inmates on death row to life imprisonment. Zimbabwe still has the death penalty but has not hanged anyone since 2005.