Zambian President Edgar Lungu has removed 246 inmates who were on death row and commuted their sentences to life sentences, a government official said on Wednesday. Minister of Home Affairs, Stephen Kampyongo, said that among the inmates includes 225 males and 21 females. He announced the commuting of the sentences during an event held at Mukobeko Maximum Prison in central Zambia’s Kabwe town which was streamed live on Facebook. Mr Kampyongo said this made the clemency of death to life sentences over 500 after 332 inmates had their sentences commuted in 2015. He said the commutation of sentences of inmates would help to congest the section of condemned inmates at the prison which was meant for 50 people but now has over 400 inmates. The move, he said, was also meant to protect inmates from...
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), said on Tuesday that the Federal Government was planning a process of commuting the death penalty of condemned inmates with over 10 years on death row to life imprisonment. Malami who said this in Abuja at a press briefing on the achievements of the Presidential Committee on Correctional Service Reform and Decongestion, also said inmates awaiting trial for upwards of five years might be released. But he said considering the increasing number of incidents of sexual and kidnap cases, inmates who had been convicted for such offences would not be considered for release during the proposed exercise. He stated, “Also, to be revisited is the issue of condemned convicts on death row for over ten (10) years wi...