Tanzanian President Benjamin Mkapa on Monday pardoned 4 485 prisoners as a gesture of goodwill on the 40th anniversary of the union between then Tanganyika and Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar and Pemba, the government announced.
”Those who have benefited from the presidential clemency include convicts of minor offences with sentences not exceeding three years’ imprisonement, the elderly, sick, pregnant and breastfeeding inmates,” Home Affairs Ministry permanent secretary Bakari Mahiza said in a statement.
The statement said prisoners on death row and those serving life terms, including those whose death penalties were commuted, are not covered by the pardon.
Also not covered are prisoners convicted of drug trafficking, corruption, cattle rustling, illegal possession of firearms, armed robbery, robbery with violence and sexual offences such as rape, sodomy and defilement of children.
It further said that the move would help reduce congestion in Tanzanian prisons, where there are more than 45 000 inmates, while the holding capacity is only about 22 000. — Sapa-AFP