15 amnesty recipients were detained again for murder and robbery
At least 15 prisoners who were pardoned by the president last month for crimes like murder and armed robbery have since been caught again.

4 270 convicts nationwide were released from jail last month after having their sentences reduced.

The clemency decree was given by President Mnangagwa to improve living conditions and relieve congestion in the country’s jails.

Following a thorough procedure of vetting possible recipients, the prisoners were freed.

Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, the spokesperson for the national police, said in an interview yesterday that a total of 15 people had been re-arrested across the nation.

“They were arrested for offences such as theft, unlawful entry and theft, stock theft, armed robbery and murder,” he said.

Of the 15, one was arrested in Harare for murder, two in Matabeleland South for armed robbery and one in Mashonaland West Province for stock theft. The rest were arrested for theft and unlawful entry.

Some of them have been convicted while others still have their cases pending before the courts.

A Harare man who recently benefited from the Presidential clemency is back behind bars after being sentenced to an effective one-year jail term for stealing blankets, an inverter and phones from a house in Borrowdale, Harare.

Brian James (23) was convicted of unlawful entry charges on his own plea of guilty by Harare magistrate Mrs Ethel Rutendo Chichera.

Initially, Mrs Chichera sentenced the unrepentant James to 15 months in jail, but suspended three months on condition of good behaviour.
The State proved that on May 21 at around 10.45am, Ms Amanda Nkobwe left home going to church, leaving all windows closed and doors locked.

Ms Nkobwe left the keys on the lower part of the roof, where she usually left them, just in case her house-mates returned home earlier

James confirmed to the court that he used the keys to unlock the doors after seeing Ms Nkobwe placing them on the roof.

As soon as Ms Nkobwe had left for church, James went to the house and took the keys from the roof, unlocked the door and entered the house.