FEMALE prisoners from Khami Maximum Prison who benefited from the presidential pardon on Monday created a spectacle in the city, as they broke into song and dance, chanting Zanu PF slogans while celebrating their release from jail.
President Robert Mugabe last Wednesday granted close to 2 000 prisoners countrywide amnesty beginning Monday.
About 85 female prisoners were released from the Khami correctional facility and danced madly soon after disembarking from the huge green Zimbabwe Prison Services truck at the Bulawayo High Court.
The spectacle, witnessed by Radio Dialogue at about 5pm, lasted for about 10 minutes, with the ecstatic women showering praises at Mugabe and Vice President Joice Mujuru.
Some of the women released from Khami were donning Zanu PF T-shirts.
Mugabe’s amnesty will benefit all convicted female prisoners and juveniles, but excludes criminals facing serious charges, including rape or any sexual offences, carjacking, conspiracy, armed robbery, murder and stock theft. Zimbabwe’s prisons are congested because the crime rate has escalated due to the country’s economic collapse.
The country’s 42 prisons have a capacity for 13 000 inmates but currently hold 18 500.
— Radio Dialogue
