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Zimbabwean Police Hunt for 16 Criminals Wrongly Freed
Zimbabwean police are urgently seeking 16 hard-core criminals mistakenly released from prison last week, following the proclamation of the general amnesty to reduce the prison population countrywide, The Herald newspaper reported on Monday.
The criminals have been asked to turn themselves in to finish their sentences, the paper said, adding that they were put into prison for committing crimes ranging from theft to house-breaking and were not supposed to benefit from the general amnesty.
However, the criminals were freed on August 11 under circumstances which are still unclear, the report added.
Police spokesman Assistant Andrew Phiri was quoted as saying that besides hunting for the criminals, the police are also investigating whether there have been underhand dealings in their release.
Nearly 4,000 prisoners have been freed since Heroes' Day under the amnesty to ease congestion in the jails.
There are 22,500 prisoners in Zimbabwe, however, the country's prisons can accommodate only 16,000 inmates.
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