Zimbabwe on Monday began releasing nearly 4,000 inmates under a presidential amnesty announced last month, in a move the government said was aimed at easing prison congestion and extending clemency to vulnerable categories of prisoners. Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the first phase covered 3,978 beneficiaries, while a total of 4,305 inmates, including 223 women, would eventually be freed under Clemency Order No. 1 of 2026.
Speaking in Harare, Ziyambi said the programme focused on inmates who had shown progress in rehabilitation, as well as prisoners considered vulnerable under the order. Zimbabwe’s prisons held just over 24,000 inmates in the second quarter of 2025, according to the latest available official statistics, underscoring the pressure on the correctional system.
The amnesty was formally gazetted on February 20 after cabinet approval earlier in the month. Under the order, eligible beneficiaries include female inmates, juvenile offenders, prisoners aged 60 and above, terminally ill inmates, prisoners in open facilities, and inmates serving effective sentences of 48 months or less who have completed at least one-third of their terms. The clemency also covers some life prisoners who have served at least 20 years, including those whose death sentences were commuted.
Authorities said the scheme excludes inmates convicted of serious offences, including murder, treason, rape and other sexual offences, robbery, armed robbery, carjacking, public violence, trafficking in persons and unlawful possession of a firearm. It also excludes some offences under public-order and infrastructure laws, including the Maintenance of Peace and Order Act.
The prisoner release comes against a charged political backdrop. On February 10, Zimbabwe’s cabinet also backed draft constitutional amendments that would extend presidential terms from five years to seven and could allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 83, to remain in office until 2030 instead of leaving in 2028. The bill would also shift presidential elections from a direct popular vote to a parliamentary vote if passed.
The proposed constitutional changes have triggered opposition from critics and some liberation war veterans, who have challenged the plan in court, arguing that it is unconstitutional and designed to prolong Mnangagwa’s stay in office without a referendum. The government has defended the process, noting that the ruling ZANU-PF party holds the parliamentary numbers to advance the bill. Officials have presented the amnesty as a correctional and humanitarian measure. But coming as Zimbabwe debates sweeping constitutional reforms, the mass release is unfolding under intense political scrutiny.
