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On Tuesday, prison authorities said that Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni had pardoned 200 prisoners on humanitarian and health grounds.
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According to an official statement by Frank Baine, spokesperson of the Uganda Prisons Service, those pardoned were all Ugandans.
Baine also stated that this was not the first time the president was pardoning prisoners. “In 2021, the president pardoned 800 prisoners,” Baine said.
The president of Uganda H.E. Kaguta Museveni pardoned 200 prisoners on public health and humanitarian grounds in an instrument of Pardon dated 20th August 2023.. pic.twitter.com/lkg3NeRwjJ
— OMG its Joe (@OMGitsJoe1)
August 30, 2023
On Monday, in an official statement, the prisons authorities said the presidential pardon is enshrined in the country’s laws, “under Article 121 (1) (a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, 1995 as amended and on advice of the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy.”
Baine also said the pardon was a gesture of compassion and an opportunity for convicts to reform.
200 prisoners including Jimmy Lwamafa, the former Permanent Secretary at Public Service were pardoned by president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. This makes it a total of 279 inmates pardoned by the president this year after the 79 who were pardoned on January 3rd. #Babatvupdates pic.twitter.com/665UPv3zLF
— Baba TV Uganda (@babatvuganda)
August 29, 2023
Furthermore, Baine stated that the advisory committee reviewed a list of 1,800 names submitted for consideration, coming up with the 200.
According to prison authorities, the country’s prisons hold at least 72,620 inmates, a figure that more than triples the capacity of all prisons.
