ECL pardons 125 inmates

Mon, 25 Dec 2017 12:37:35 +0000

…including senior citizens aged between 65 and 86

By CECILIA MUBAMBE

PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu has pardoned 125 prisoners across Zambia through the presidential amnesty to commemorate the 2017 Christmas Day.

The President’s amnesty is in accordance with the powers vested in him under Article 97 (1) (a) of the Constitution of Zambia, which provides for Presidential pardon and substation of severe punishment imposed on convicted persons.

According to a statement issued by Home Affairs permanent secretary Chileshe Mulenga, three of the pardoned inmates were senior citizens aged between 65 and 86.

“The ministry of Home Affairs, staff of the Zambia Correctional Service and inmates of the correctional centres throughout the country are grateful to President Lungu for exercising his prerogative of mercy at the time when the correctional are extremely congested.

“This gesture alone goes a long way towards easing the lives of the inmates still in the correctional centres and in upholding their rights and human dignity,” Dr Mulenga said.

He said the ministry was confident that the pardoned prisoners had been rehabilitated and were ready for reintegration in society.

Dr Mulenga said successful reintegration of former inmates was however largely dependent on the support of members of the immediate families and communities of the former inmates.

“We call upon the families of the pardoned inmates and members of the public at large to support the former inmates by not discriminating against them, and giving them a second chance to find their feet as law abiding citizens.

“We should commemorate the birth of Christ by forgiving, sharing and picking one another up,” Dr Mulenga said.